Light Meets the Dark
by Lina Cross
Summary: The team decides to go on an unauthorized mission. It's only a bank robbery, but as Miss Martian wisely pointed out, a simple fire lead them to Superboy. What could a simple robbery have in store? R&R
1. Boredom

**Check out my Oneshot, "Just a Sidekick" if you want to see a non-OC Young Justice story of mine.**

**Flames are not allowed. I will dispute any and all I see. Constructive criticism is more than welcome. I like Robin, and I feel he should have a love interest, and since one wasn't jumping out of the clovers, I provided my own.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Young Justice, only the character(s) you do not recognize.**

**. . .**

"I'm bored." Wally stated, glancing around the living room. "Can we go hang out on the beach?"

"It's raining." Megan pointed out.

"How do you know? There aren't any windows in here."

"Because I just walked in." said Robin, catching the towel Megan tossed to him. He was dripping wet, his street clothes hanging off of him. "I'm gonna go change."

"Well, what _can_ we do?" Wally asked, having another look around the room.

"Here's an idea, how about we play the quiet game!" Artemis said with mock excitement as she fixed an arrow. "Can it, Kid Mouth, I'm working."

"Wally, if you're really in need of entertainment, I would suggest you take some time and work in the training room." Kaldur suggested.

Wally made a face. "Not that bored, Fishman."

Robin reentered the room, a fresh set of clothes on and his hair only mildly damp. He sat on the couch between Conner and Wally, sinking gratefully into the cushions. Suddenly, his wrist-gadget made a beeping noise, and he tried to cover it with his hand.

"What was that?" the red-headed teen asked, knowing what that sound meant.

"It's nothing." the other said, desperately trying to shove the beeping object between the pillows.

"I know what that is! There's crime going on somewhere!" he said excitedly.

"There's always crime going on, Wally." Robin reasoned.

"Yes, but we know where this one is! Come on, Rob, let's do it!"

"No." Kaldur said firmly. "You know as well as I that we have no permission to go out on unauthorized missions."

"Oh, yeah, and how long has it been since we've had a mission?" he shot back.

"Two weeks, three days, and nine hours exactly." said Megan from the kitchen. No one even bothered to look at her funny.

"As much as I hate to agree, I have to say I'd rather go." Artemis said, making a regretful face. "I mean, to the adults, it's like we're not even here anymore."

"Meg, do you wanna go?" Wally asked the Martian girl.

She looked as though she was internally debating the question, then nodded, which surprised even Kid Flash. "I do, actually. I feel there's good to be done that we can be a part of."

"Well, that settles it!" said the ginger, standing up. "I don't have to be bored anymore!"

"I think you all are forgetting that I am the only one with the information." said Robin.

"Walton street, bank robbery." Conner said suddenly. Everyone paused. He looked at Robin, slight apology in his eyes. "I saw your watch before you hid it."

The Boy Wonder shook his head. "Guys, really. Why can't we all just relax and enjoy our downtime?"

This statement was met with the most stunned silence ever heard in Mount Justice.

"Yeah, you're right, let's go." he conceded, jumping off the couch.

Kaldur sighed in resignation as Wally whooped and jumped on his way to get his super suit. He looked over at Conner. "I hope this does not go badly." he said before exiting the room behind Artemis.

Megan looked over at the clone, suddenly hyper-aware that they were the last ones left. "Um... I guess we should go change now, right?"

He looked at her. "I'm already dressed." he said, gesturing to his jeans and Superman t-shirt.

She blushed slightly. "Oh, right. Hello, Megan! Well, I guess I am, too." she ended quietly as she changed the appearance of her clothes. "Um, I suppose I'll go get the ship ready, then. So... bye."

Conner watched as she left, confused at her sudden lack of flowing speech.


	2. Robbery

Robin sped through the streets of Gotham City on his motorbike, still not keeping apace with his speedster friend, but going fast enough that he could stay directly below Miss Martian. He swung the bike to a stop at the back entrance to the bank, whose alarms were going off like crazy. Superboy landed next to him shortly after, causing a small tremor.

"If you could refrain from causing seismic disruptions, that would be awesome." Robin said, removing his helmet. "Remember, we have to be _very _covert if we're not gonna get caught."

"That is correct, Robin." said Aqualad as he ran up. "I suggest we not make a large entrance."

"Precisely why I chose the back door." Kid Flash said, leaning against said door. "See, I can be smart."

"When you're not being stupid." Artimes said as she came up. "Which isn't very often."

"That would be why I said _can_, beautiful, not _am_."

"Guys, be quiet." Miss Martian whispered, alighting on the ground. "We're about to go in."

"Does everyone know the plan?" Aqualad asked. They nodded, and he took a breath. "Good. Let's go."

Quietly, Robin opened the door and slipped inside, followed by the others. The thieves could be heard arguing at the front of the bank, and from what he could hear, it was about how to escape.

"Dude, there's cops all over the joint! We'll never get through!"

"There's a back door."

"How many are out there, huh? Did you even look? Stupid, this is why _I_ run the show."

"Maybe you could-" There was a grunt of pain, then, "Marco? Marco?"

"What just happened?" Kid Flash whispered, looking at Robin, who shrugged.

"Just keep going with the plan." he said, and crept to the opening leading to the main area, where the thieves were. He did his creepy laugh (of which he was very proud) and leaped into the room, quietly as possible, as instructed.

Instead of taking out a burglar, though, he slammed into something else, something he couldn't see. "Ow! What the-"

"Hey!" a voice exclaimed. Something moved next to him. "Stay out of my way!"

_I would if I could see you_, he thought irritably, getting up off the floor. There were four men in the room, one of them unconscious. Before Robin could do anything, another was on the floor, out cold. The Boy Wonder decided it was time to do his part and went to kick one of the two remaining men in the face. Instead of hitting him, Robin's foot connected with something a foot away.

"Ow! I told you, _out of my way_!"

"I can't see you!" he yelled back.

"Then get out! This is my job!"

"Too late. My team's already in here."

"What?"

As according to plan, Kid Flash rushed in, but ended up slamming into the invisible person. "Ow! What did I-"

"Get off, Bozo!"

"Who just-"

"Hey, Mikey, we'd better get outta here!" said one of the last two guys.

"Yeah, while they're distracted!" said the other. They both tried to go out the back way, but one of them was pulled back.

"Oh, no you don't." said the disembodied voice. Before whatever it was could do anything, though, Artemis shot a gas-filled arrow at what she thought was the back of a robber. In actuality, the two robbers got away, and there was the sound of someone coughing in the middle of the gas cloud.

"Um... what just happened?" Kid Flash asked as Miss Martian, Superboy, and Aqualad entered the room.

"You _idiots_!" the voice yelled as the gas cleared. Slowly, like she was melting into existence, a very angry teenaged girl appeared, wearing a black, Spandex costume with a black mask. "You ruined _everything_! Now they're getting away because you are all _morons_!"

"Hey! No need to be rude!" Kid Flash protested.

"We didn't even know you were here." said Artemis, face red with embarrassment from having shot the wrong target.

"Why were you here anyway?" the girl roared, completely furious. "You were not called! I had this handled! _And_, if you didn't notice, _they got away with eight hundred dollars_!"

"Okay! We screwed up! We get it!" Robin yelled. "No need to continue!"

"Oh, yes there is!" she snapped, advancing on him. "We are all in _so_ much trouble if we don't get out of heer _now_! Because you know who's about to show up?"

He paled. "No. No, don't say it, he'll only come faster. No, don't!"

"Batman."

He closed his eyes as the rest of the team groaned. As if on cue, the Dark Knight himself walked through the front doors, looking livid. No one said a word as he looked at them all. Kid Flash sort of wished his uncle was there to provide a little leverage, but he had no such luck.

"I will be contacting _everyone's _mentors." Batman said simply, yet with so much anger that Miss Martian had to keep herself from bursting into tears. "Robin, I will speak to you in the Batcave. And _you_." He turned to the invisible girl, who was looking pale, yet somehow managing to keep a hard look of irritation on her face. "You will be dealt with _personally_."

Kid Flash looked as though he were about to pee himself, so Robin quickly whispered, "He's not gonna hurt her, if that's what you're thinking."

The speedster relaxed, but only slightly. "Oh, man. Uncle's gonna be _ticked_. And that's nothing compared to what Mom's gonna do." he whispered as they filed out of the bank, getting double embarrassment because of the press cameras all over the place.

Instead of concerning himself over how long he'd be grounded, or how many extra hours of training he'd have to put in, the Boy Wonder glanced back at the girl, wondering who she was and how she could make Batman so... _hateful_.


	3. Acquaintance

Robin sat quietly in his room, awaiting his mentor's arrival. He'd talked to the invisible girl first, and, from what he heard, Batman really hated the girl. And she wasn't even evil! At least, Robin didn't think so, as she _had _been in the process of stopping a bank robbery when they'd come in and ruined everything.

He stiffened as footsteps were heard outside the door. It opened, and Robin was looking into the disappointed face of Bruce Wayne.

"Do you understand why I'm upset?" he asked, fully entering the room.

"Because we went on a mission without authorization?"

"Yes." Bruce said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "And that you failed miserably in the mission. Have I taught you nothing? I thought, in the event of pressure from a team, even Aqualad would cave in, but _you_, of all people, were trained to be _better_."

Robin looked at his adopted father, hurt. "But what's the point of all that training if we can't use it? Two and a half weeks, we've been sitting at Mount Justice doing nothing! And I know for a fact every member of the League has been busy with one thing or another. I figured that, since no one seemed to be handling the robbery, we could do it."

"But you _couldn't_ handle it." Bruce argued. "You just made a bigger mess, which Flash and I had to clean up! I won't tolerate disobedience, Robin, you know that. You'll be having double hours of training every week, and you're grounded for a month. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." Robin sighed, slumping a little where he sat. The moment Bruce reached the doorway, though, the boy's last argument came out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe the reason we messed up was because someone was interfering?"

His mentor paused, then turned slightly. "There is always someone interfering, always distractions. It's proof of who we are as heroes in how we overcome them."

**. . .**

The next day, Robin arrived at Mount Justice bright and early, having been told there would be a small change at the base. He saw Wally and Conner already in the living room, so he sat on the couch between them. Conner seemed calm and collected, as usual, while Wally had a sour expression on his face.

"That bad?" Robin asked his best friend.

He groaned. "No video games for a month. A month! And that's not even getting into what _Mom's _got in store for me."

The Boy Wonder turned to Conner. "What did you get?"

The older boy shrugged. "Extra work around the mountain from Tornado." he said simply.

"Man, this bites! Who was that chic that screwed with our plan, anyway? Nobody seems to know who she is!" Wally burst out.

"I can tell you one thing, Batman sure seems to know." Robin said. "Doesn't like her too much, either."

"I bet you she's a freelancer." said the ginger excitedly. "Bats doesn't like them. You know, like, she's not really a good guy and not really a bad guy?"

"Sure, Kid. And she probably had a plan to run off with the money after taking care of the robbers." said Artemis, flopping down on the couch. "Whoever she is, it doesn't concern us anymore."

"I wouldn't say that." said Flash's voice as he walked in.

"Uncle B – I mean, Flash!" Wally said happily. "What's up?"

Hey, Kid. Just came to bring over the new recruit, since... well, since there's no mentor." the speedster said a bit uncomfortably.

"What new recruit?" Artemis asked as Megan and Kaldur walked in.

He stepped to the side, holding out his arms like Vana White. "Everyone, meet Shadow."

A teenaged girl with shaggy black hair and shining black eyes came into view, wearing jeans and a white tank top with a set of dog tags. Her hands had black, fingerless gloves on them, and she had a look of mild indifference on her face. She seemed slightly familiar to Robin, but he couldn't think where he'd seen her before.

"Well, hello, there." Wally said, being the first to stride up and shake her hand. "Kid Flash, nice to meet you."

She raised her eyebrows slightly and smirked. "Ah, so the quick protege is a ginger. This somehow makes sense."

"Hey, easy on the ginger thing."

"Well, I'll just let you all get acquainted with the new kid. Call Tornado if you need anything." Flash said, speeding out of the living room.

"Hey," said Artemis. "I'm Artemis. No hero name. I specialize in archery.

"Good to meet you."

"Hi, Shadow." said Megan, floating up. "My name's M'gahn, but you can call me Megan."

"You're Miss Martian, aren't you?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, that's me." the green girl giggled.

"Greetings." said Kaldur. "My name is Kaldur, and in the field, I am Aqualad. I am leader of this team."

"Woo, no lack of muscle here, huh?" she laughed, shaking his hand.

"Um... that's Superboy." said Wally, gesturing to the stationary boy who hadn't approached. "He's kinda moody." he whispered.

"And I'm – Oh, man." Robin said, suddenly realizing who Shadow really was. "You're that girl from the bank."

"What?" Wally asked, looking stunned. "No way!"

"Yes way, genius." Shadow snapped, suddenly not so calm, then sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about last night, okay? It's just... You gotta understand, that was my chance. My last hope at actually doing something right and being accepted by the League. They always say they're unbiased and stuff but that's not true. They don't care who you are; it always depends on you you're acquainted with." She looked at them, eyes suddenly serious. "You guys almost screwed that up for me. Can you see why I'd be mad?"

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. Each team member looked a little guilty for their own part in last night's failure. Now, they knew the extent of the damage.

"But... they let you on the Young Justice team, right?" Megan asked. "That has to count for something."

"It's a step up." Shadow admitted. "But they still don't trust me."

"Why not?" Kaldur asked.

She looked directly at him. "If I'm being shunned by the adults for who I am, what makes you think I'm going to let you do the same?"

"We won't shun you!" Wally protested.

"No, I get it." said Conner, speaking for the first time. Shadow looked at him, interest sparking in her eye. "Nobody knows how they'll act in a situation until presented with it."

There was silence again, then Wally said, "Well... very wordily put, Supey. Good job."

"Anyway," Shadow continued. "He's right. And the only reason I'm apologizing for getting angry is because I figured, if I'm going to be working with you all, I'd better learn to grow up and work less independently. So don't give me a reason to get mad. Seriously."

"Fine." said Artemis. "Then let's change the subject. What are your powers?"

The black-haired girl suddenly grinned. "That's the cool part. See, when I was little, I got these wicked awesome powers. Like, I can turn invisible, as demonstrated last night, and I can shoot actual sunlight from my hands."

"What do you mean, 'actual sunlight'?" Robin asked.

"Just that." she answered. "This stuff could fry you like bacon if you get too close. And you really shouldn't look directly at it. There's no atmosphere or ozone layer acting as a lens. That's why I have tinted glass in my mask."

"Is that why you wear gloves?" Megan asked. "Are there marks on your hands?"

"No. I did some experimentation and found out that black leather absorbs the light best so I don't go accidentally shooting people. Tin foil deflects it, so if I have that on my hands, I'll be left with sizzling stumps."

"So all someone has to do is wear a tin foil suit around you?" Artemis asked.

Shadow shrugged. "Provided you don't become brain damaged from your tin hat, you should be perfectly fine. And if you're wearing all black leather... Let's just say the result will smell really bad."

Kaldur chuckled. "It seems you're a walking contradiction, Shadow. Powers of light and dark. It leads me to wonder what your real name is, since those often hold meaning to one's spirit."

She smiled. "Darcy. Darcy Darke."


	4. Secrets

**Just a little side-note, I'm not exactly sure what the computer says when someone enters Mount Justice. I watched one scene over and over again and couldn't make out a few of the words, so if anyone can help me in that area, that would be appreciated.**

**Also, for a little while, it may seem like this story isn't really going anywhere, but I assure you, there's a lot of plot coming your way. It might actually be a little darker than I originally intended, so it might get creepy later on.**

**. . .**

"_Recognize, Red Arrow, B zero-six."_

"Finally, you changed the name."

"Hey, Roy!" said Wally, jumping off the couch. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" asked the older boy. "I'm here to check out the new teammate."

"Why? You jealous?"

Robin held his breath, not sure whether to laugh or fear for Darcy's life as Roy cocked his head at her. His expression showed he wasn't amused, but Darcy kept the slight smirk firmly in place. "And why would I be jealous?"

"Oh, I don't know." she said, uncrossing her arms as she strode towards him. "Big, strong, handsome guy like you should be on the team, and yet some scrawny chic who doesn't actually have a lot of body density is allowed to walk right in."

Roy looked down at her, mask hiding his full expression. "For your information, I declined the offer to work here. Not the other way around. But thanks for the compliment."

"No problem," she said, seeming as though being wrong wasn't something to concern herself with. Then, as though she had to annoy him just a little further, she looked back on her way out of the room. "I've met Green Arrow... _Speedy_."

Just as she was about to walk through the door, an arrow came flying away from Roy's boy and embedded itself in the doorway. Darcy paused, and suddenly he was right next to her, ripping the arrow out of the wall. "Maybe they didn't tell you. It's Red Arrow now. And if you think I'm still in touch with that old man, think again."

Then she was in his face. "Listen, _kid_. I don't know what planet you live on, but where I come from, we respect the people who raised us and made us who we are, no matter who that person is. I don't care what angsty thoughts run through your head when you see him. He's a good man, and you're just gonna have to deal with that."

Robin, from his spot in the kitchen, watched her leave. Every time she got angry, it seemed like a little more of her inner workings was revealed. A little cryptically and in a roundabout way, but still. What she wasn't saying was heard louder than her actual words.

"So... Has she been sufficiently checked out?" Wally asked out of the silence.

"I'm leaving." Roy said stiffly, walking back through the way he'd come.

The computer announced his exit, and then he was gone. Silence reigned once more, but it was better, since the TV was on and Robin was focusing on his food.

"Hey, Rob?" Wally asked suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think all that stuff was with Darcy a second ago?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I just... I feel like she's keeping secrets, you know? Like she's hiding something." said the ginger. "Does that sound weird to you?"

"Everybody's hiding something, Wally." Robin responded. "If it's not something really minor, I'll be surprised. Don't worry about it."

"Fine. I'll try not to."

"Good."

"...Hey, Rob?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm bored."

"Dear God, not this again." he groaned.

**. . .**

Later that night, Robin decided he was sleeping at the Mountain, since that was the only other place he could be besides Wayne Manor. He wasn't even allowed in the Batcave for the duration of his punishment. As he headed down the hall to his bedroom, he heard raised voices from Kaldur's room. He brushed his fingers against the door, ready to go in and end the argument, when he recognized Darcy's voice.

"Look, I confided in you for a reason, Kaldur! I don't want you spouting this stuff off to everyone else!"

"This isn't something you can hide forever, Darcy. You'll have to tell them. I'm not even sure why you told me."

"Because, as leader, you have a right to know! You _have_ to know who your team is!"

"Then you also know I am loyal to my team! If this endangers them, I'll have no choice but to tell them!"

"Kaldur!" she shouted suddenly, and the room fell silent. "Kaldur, look," she continued more quietly. "If it endangers them, then yes, I want you to tell them. I may be new, but I'm part of this team now. That means I have to take stock of the risks I always have around me and gauge how they'll effect everyone else. But I promise you, I won't let anyone get hurt by this. You have nothing to do with it. I'd give myself up before she got to any of you."

"Darcy, please. As heroes, we take risks all the time. This is nothing we can't handle."

She sighed. "You would think, wouldn't you? Look, I'm just saying, I need this to be kept secret. Everything I've just told you I've been telling the League for years and they still don't trust me. I don't think I'll be able to earn that trust from all of you. Do I have your word?"

Silence.

"_Kaldur_."

"Yes. I give you my word."

"Good." she said, and Robin heard her footsteps approaching the door. Glancing around quickly, he found a good hiding place behind a plant and crouched in the darkness as she left the room and walked down the hallway. In retrospect, he could have stood in the same spot the entire time and she wouldn't have seen him. He watched her go, suddenly suspicious of the girl in the shadows. Kaldur gave her his word, but that didn't mean he fully trusted her. Something was going on, and Robin wanted to find out what.


	5. Deceit

The next evening, all was normal (meaning Robin was cleaning a Batarang, Artemis and Wally were fighting, Megan was burning cookies, Conner was watching static, and Kaldur and Darcy were playing checkers). Nothing seemed to be amiss, until Robin's watch began beeping. The atmosphere automatically tensed as everyone looked at the Boy Wonder. He quickly stuffed his wrist between the couch cushions.

"I thought Batman told you to turn that off." said Artemis.

"It resets every morning." Robin explained. "I forgot."

"Why is such an annoying sound so tantalizing?" Darcy groaned. Then, looking down at the board, "King me."

"We are not permitted to go out." Kaldur said, placing a checker on top of Darcy's. "We can't get into trouble again."

"We know, Kaldur." Megan said not unkindly. "It's just, it would be a lot of fun to finally do something again."

"Hey, I know." said Wally, trying to get his mind off the beeping signal. "How about we watch some TV?" He picked up the remote and flipped on the screen, which happened to be on the news channel at that time.

"...getting reports of a house on Thirty-Second Street with a domestic dispute case." the news anchor woman was saying. "We're going to our field reporter, Miranda Kirk, for the story."

The screen changed to a woman standing outside a house. There were two police cars out in front, but nothing really seemed to be happening. "Thanks, Barbara. As you can see, the situation isn't very serious. Two policemen have gone into the house already to calm down the people fighting. It is assumed there are only a man and a woman in the house and no children. We don't know – What was that?" she exclaimed as gunshots were heard.

Suddenly, mad cackling began to rise over the sounds of a few screams of terror, and a voice seemed to be talking on a loud speaker. "Well, hello, there. I see I am on television. How... convenient. It seems there won't be a way for the Batman to ignore me. I hold this family hostage, and those two officers you so kindly sent in. Come and get me, if you think you can."

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Megan was half-morphed into her costume until a hard look from Kaldur made her change back. All eyes were riveted to the big screen.

Now, the reporter, Miranda, was talking rapidly into the microphone, trying to cover the story before anyone else. "I now have word of an intruder in the house. No identification yet, but more policemen are on the way. An emergency vehicle has just been called to stand by. Batman has not arrived yet, and no one seems to know why. He should be here by now." Another gunshot was heard, and Miranda flinched. Her eyes suddenly widened. "I just received word of two children inside the house. I repeat, two children are inside. Batman still has not arrived, but the backup is here."

As Miranda continued talking, Darcy reached down and began tugging her suit out of her bag, shooting Robin a meaningful look. He nodded, beginning to strap on his utility belt. "Guys," he said. "I think it's time to intervene."

Kaldur nodded reluctantly. "Megan, get the ship ready."

**. . .**

The moment the last teen left for the hanger and the place was empty, Superman's face came on the big screen. It was deadly serious (as it often was) and he began to speak. "Superman to Young Justice. Don't get involved in the Thirty-Second Street situation. I repeat, do not get involved. We'll send someone as soon as possible. Stay in the mountain. Superman out."

The screen went blank, and the mountain was silent.

**. . .**

"No other sounds have come from the house, and we believe there is one casualty so far. Batman still holds no sign of showing up..."

"What's taking him so long?" Robin asked, looking at the floating screen on his wrist.

Shadow looked at him, understanding in the set of her mouth as she put a hand on his arm. "I'm sure he's just busy with something else."

"Yeah, but what about the others?" he asked tensely as the ship flew invisibly over the house under attack. "Are they all busy, too?"

"I have to believe they have a good reason." said Aqualad. "Otherwise, why wait?"

Shadow's expression became hard behind her tinted mask. "Yeah, well, I don't have to believe that. I don't know what's going on, but something smells fishy. Tread lightly, guys."

"I am so ready to take this guy on." said Kid Flash, hands balled into fists. "Who does he think he is, messin' with little kids?"

"Someone evil." Artemis said as if it was the most obvious thing. Which it was.

"Okay, guys, we're coming in for the landing." Miss Martian said from the pilot's chair, mentally guiding the ship downward.

"Remember, everyone. Silence is the key." Aqualad reminded them as they landed. Their seatbelts retracted automatically, and they filed off the ship.

Just as Shadow was stepping off, Superboy bumped against her small frame. She looked at him curiously.

"Be careful." he said simply. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"You and me both." she breathed, vanishing on the spot.

Robin looked around, saw that everyone was in place (or, _didn't_ see, in Shadow's case) and gave a small nod to Aqualad.

"All right, move in." said the leader, getting his weapons ready.

As Robin moved with the rest, he had a sudden feeling of deja vu. Entering through the back door on a mission that hadn't been authorized. Something told him this might not end well.

Everything was going down in the kitchen. There was a man and a woman tied to two chairs. Two small children had been locked in a large cage. Two police officers lay unconscious on the floor. There were three henchmen monitoring the awake hostages, but there was no sign of a main bad guy.

"Your first impulse is to scream. Don't scream, don't talk, don't make a sound." Shadow whispered behind the woman, becoming visible. She stiffened, but said nothing. "Good. My name is Shadow. My friends and I are here to help you. We'll get you out of here." Shadow began to undo the woman's bindings, but her hand was stopped by the woman's. She looked up, and saw her gesturing silently at the two kids. "I have to get them next. Opening the cage will draw too much attention." When the woman kept gesturing, she sighed. "I can't. Besides, one of my friends is already on that. He's better at lock-picking than I am."

The woman seemed to debate for a moment, then nodded. Shadow untied her, then the husband. She told them not to get up yet, to wait for her signal.

Then the first arrow came. It wasn't pointed, but had a weight on the end that knocked out the first guard. The other two looked down at their fallen comrade, confused, when suddenly the other fell unconscious, seemingly of his own accord. Kid Flash was then next to Shadow. "I got him. You ready?"

"Ready," she whispered. She vanished as she sneaked up behind the third one, then shoved his head hard enough into the wall that he was knocked out and there was a dent in the plaster. "Okay, now you can move." she told the couple as Robin unlocked the cage.

"Good job." Aqualad said, going to stand next to her.

"Thanks." she said distractedly. "I just can't help feeling that this was all way too easy."

"You got that right." Robin said. Kid Flash began ushering the family out of the house. The further they got, the more tense Shadow became, until finally they were completely out. She moved to stand next to Superboy by the sink. "I'm a live wire here. Got any special senses that go off when an enemy is near?"

He shook his head. "It's too quiet."

"Really? Was it too much?"

Shadow jumped at the voice, automatically vanishing. A man was standing in the doorway, wearing a black jacket, black pants, and black boots with a black stocking cap. He was smirking, as though having just won something.

"I wanted the pause to be for dramatic effect, but maybe I need to work on that."

"Who are you?" Aqualad asked, tattoos glowing.

"Me?" the man asked, his air of self-importance becoming so thick it was suffocating. "Why, I'm the Thief."

"Why are you here?"

"I thought it was obvious. I wanted a good fight. But six on one doesn't seem very fair, does it?" he asked, beginning to laugh evilly.

_Six_, Shadow thought. _He hasn't seen me yet._

"So here are _my_ men."

Seven burly men all dressed in black showed up in the living room beyond the kitchen, all cracking their knuckles.

"But we have no room in here. And I think we can give up these games, right?" Thief asked, hitting a button on the remote. Everything changed all at once. The kitchen and house melted away, revealing a huge warehouse interior. Even the unconscious policemen were gone. Everyone stared around, completely stunned. "You see, you were never in a house on Thirty-Second Street. There _is_ no Thirty-Second Street. I was bored, so I decided to get some people to play with. Batman would have been better, but you brats will have to do."

"I knew this was too easy." Robin muttered, looking pale.

"Everyone, hold your ground." Aqualad said, crouching into a fighting position. "And wait for my signal."


	6. Light

"Robin, cover me!" Artemis cried, launching an arrow at a burly crony.

Shadow stood back for a moment to assess the battle. Out of the seven original henchmen, four remained. So far, no one unwelcome had discovered her presence. Movement from the corner of her eye announced Thief had come back into play. Knowing he would attack one of the distracted team members, she launched herself at him.

Thief stumbled backward, looking shocked, but then he recovered and smiled. "Oh, so we have a little stowaway, do we?" he cackled, flipping some sort of switch on his mask. "That's better. Now I can see you."

_Heat sensors_, she thought, startled. She jumped as he took a swing at her, and came down hard on his head with both fists. He backed up, and they tangled again. Once, when she tried to kick him, he grabbed her foot and threw her right into Robin.

"You okay?" he panted, pushing her off of him.

"Fine. You handle that guy." she said, gesturing pointlessly at an oncoming enemy. She reentered the battle with Thief, when suddenly he grabbed her fist and threw her to the floor. He placed his foot on her chest, pressing hard, and he lowered his face so it was next to hers.

"Do you know why I'm called the Thief?" he asked quietly.

"I'm actually kinda confused on that point." she said, still invisible. "Most thieves are quiet. You talk way too much."

She earned a punch in the face for her remark, but it _had_ been something she was curious about.

"I am called Thief," he continued testily. "Because of this." From out of a pouch on his belt, Thief withdrew a device that looked somewhat like a Tazer. It was black, hand-held, and had two prongs on the end. But there was a red dial on it that had words instead of numbers. Rising to his full height, he pointed it down at her and called, "Stop the fight!"

Gradually, the sounds of battle stopped as everyone turned to watch the exchange. A few of the team members were confused at first, seeing only the villain with his foot suspended in mid air. Then it dawned on them that Shadow must be beneath. "I am a thief because I steal things. But I don't steal money or jewels. I steal something _much_ more valuable." He grinned as he fiddled with the dial, then looked down at Shadow. "I steal the powers of supers like yourselves. For example, the power of invisibility. Like so."

Nothing could have prepared anyone for the screams emanating from Shadow. She writhed in agony beneath Theif's foot, the electric currents from the device running through her body like lightning. Kid Flash ran forward, but was knocked back with a sort of blue energy.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Thief cackled, a mad glint in his eye. "I forgot to mention, my last stop was a little girl with force-fields!"

"We have to do something!" Robin hissed. He looked at Aqualad, noting that Shadow was now flickering between being visible and invisible. "Got any plans?"

"Not right now." he said tensely. "With the force-fields, I don't know how we're getting past him."

"Look away!" Shadow cried out.

"What?" Miss Martian asked, confused.

"Look away." Superboy repeated, placing his hands over her eyes and pushing her to the floor. Everyone else followed suit, crouching down and shutting their eyes as tightly as they could.

It was like the room was ablaze. Even through his closed eyelids, Robin could tell the entire area had just lit up like the Fourth of July. Something blasted him against the wall, and he crouched on the floor, covering his head. Then, all at once, everything stopped. Panting, he cautiously opened his eyes, and what he saw for a moment was a big stretch of gray. Then, he realized that he was looking at a crate, and quickly moved it out of the way, though it was curiously hot. That's when he saw the real scene.

Every container in the room was half melted, and there were scorch marks all over the floor and walls. Small fires had erupted in odd corners of the room. A few of the lights hung dead and sparking from the ceiling. Every bad guy was unconscious, having minor burns covering their skin. In the middle of the blast radius lay Shadow, panting and surrounded by a ten-foot circle of untouched floor.

"Um... Is it safe to come out now?" Kid Flash asked nervously.

"Yeah." she called from the floor. "We're good. Cops are on the way. As is an EMT. Who volunteers to carry me out of here?"

**. . .**

"That was... possibly the most incredible thing I've never seen." Wally said, grinning.

Darcy smiled a little on the couch next to him. She looked totally wiped out, complete with pale complexion and a black eye. She shifted the ice pack on her ribs. "Thanks. I don't do it very often. Normally it's just streamlined into one beam, but..." she trailed off, shrugging a little.

"I'm just glad you're on our team." Artemis said. "I'm not exactly sure where we'd be if you were one of the bad guys."

"Let's just say it would be a very superheated place and be done with it." Darcy offered.

"Oh, and, thanks." Robin said, looking up from his noodles.

"For what?"

"For getting us out of more trouble." he answered. "I didn't know it was possible to sweet talk Batman into doing anything."

She grimaced, flashing a quick look at Kaldur. "Yeah, well... I just know my assets."

"Who wants cookies?" Megan sang from the kitchen.

**. . .**

Batman looked at the shadowy figure in the alley, an expression of hardened dislike on his face. "You can't leave her here."

"Why not?" drawled the woman. "She's doing fine. Saved your little birdie from a good beating, didn't she?"

"That isn't my point."

"Then what is your point, Batman, dear? I'm tired of these games we play."

He grasped her wrist and slowly pushed her hand away from his face. "You created her. You made her into someone who can't be trusted. It's who you've acquainted her with, what you've taught her. I don't even know how you talked me into letting her join in the first place."

"I didn't talk you into it, Batty, Flash did. I just happened to put the idea in his head. As for the trust issues..." She back up into the darkness once more. "The only problem is you. She's a good girl. But the only thing you can see in her is me."

**End Part One**


	7. News

**I hope you all liked part one. I'm going to try and update more regularly than I have been, but as my HTTYD, Hunger Games, and Harry Potter fanfictions can attest, I'm not very good at that.**

**Anyway, after that bombshell of an introduction, things will calm down a little bit. Robin will continue piecing things together, Wally will continue being curious, and Batman will continue being Batman. Slight warning, there will be some sexual innuendo in this chapter. Now that that's out of the way, let's get to the mischief.**

**Oh, by the way, if anyone wants to try their hand at guessing who this mysterious lady is, be my guest. I want to see if it's too obvious.**

**. . .**

**Part Two**

Wally West and Darcy Darke strode into Mount Justice side by side, swagger-mode having been activated prior to entry. Robin watched with a slight grin on his face. After the events from two months ago, Darcy had relaxed considerably, and shown herself to be a very cocky girl. Naturally, she and Wally became fast friends once they got the chance to know each other, but she was still level-headed enough to be tolerated by Artemis. And, oddly enough, she really couldn't get enough of Megan's burnt cookie specialty. She even handed over a few recipes that would taste better when charred to cinders.

The weirdest part of all was that fact that she'd managed to get Conner to crack a smile. Actually, more than that, she'd gotten him to laugh. All she'd done was walk into a room, completely invisible, and scare the daylights out of Wally as he tried to leave. She just randomly reappeared directly in front of him. Granted, Wally's face had been absolutely priceless, but it still hadn't taken much.

As Robin watched, Darcy looked at Wally sitting on the couch. Immediately, her eyes became half-lidded, and her face became serious. She went over and sat on his lap, surprising everyone. "Hello, Wally," she said in an oddly deep and seductive voice. "I hear you're pretty fast."

His eyes became saucers. She looked surprised, then saw everyone else looking at her in much the same way. "Uh... I'm guessing you guys didn't get the memo." she said, sliding off his lap.

"What memo?" Kaldur asked carefully.

She looked apologetic. "It's Make Someone Feel Awkward Day."

There were actually a few tangible sighs of relief after this statement, but Wally still looked troubled. "So you picked me?" he asked indignantly.

"Well, yeah." she said. "You're the only person I know whose nose turns bright red when you're embarrassed." Her mouth twitched a little as she said her next sentence. "I'm telling you, the moment I sat down, it was like instant Rudolph."

"All right, that's it. You know what, come here!" he snapped, speeding off the couch as she ran down the hallway.

"Meg, are you _sure_ they're not dating?" Artemis asked, looking miffed.

"You told me not to read any of your minds," Megan began. "But, yes, I'm sure. I didn't feel any of those kinds of emotions from either of them. They're more like siblings than anything."

"That's... troubling." Robin said, though he was grinning.

"Why?" Kaldur asked suspiciously.

"Well, because two teenagers with high levels of self-importance that act like siblings get into more trouble than a couple would." he explained. "I think I'll go help them."

**. . .**

"Hey, Wally." Robin said later that day, entering the kitchen. "What's up?"

"Hey, Rob. Nothing interesting. Just hiding from Darcy. How about you?" the ginger asked casually.

"Came to get an apple." Robin said, tossing the green fruit up in the air and hopping up on the counter before it came back down. "So, did Darcy spend the night at your place again?"

"Yeah. It was Uncle Barry's birthday, and she came by. Then Mom was all like, 'Oh, please stay, dear. You're such a good influence on our Wally.'" He rolled his eyes and bit into a chocolate bar. "Honestly, it's as if the woman doesn't know Darcy at all. That chic robbed me of all my Milky Ways!"

Robin laughed. "So I take it you're not together?"

Wally blanched and coughed up a few crumbs. "T – Togeth – I don't... I can't... Dude... ew. She's going out with Roy, anyway."

"Wait, Roy?"

"WALLY!"

The ginger paled as Darcy was heard screaming his name from down the hall. "Nice chat. Gotta go. Sorry." he got out just before speeding out of the kitchen.

Seconds later, the invisible girl walked in, looking livid. "Wally, I swear to – Oh, hi, Robin." she said, immediately brightening. "Which way did he go?"

"That way." he said, chewing on a piece of apple. "What did he do this time?"

"Oh, just stole my favorite comic book." she said casually. She scooted up onto the counter next to him. "What's been happening?"

"I watched Superboy totally own Kaldur in the training room earlier. It was pretty epic, complete with shaking floors and everything."

"Meh, I could take him." she promised.

Robin laughed. "Yeah, _maybe_. Stress on the _maybe_."

"Who knows?" she said, leaning back. "Maybe I'll get lucky."

"Ha! Yeah, maybe."

"_Recognize, Red Arrow, B zero-six."_

"Oh, duh!" Darcy said, smacking herself in the head. "I forgot he was coming today."

"Oh, right, 'cause you guys are going out and all, right?" Robin asked, not so much jealous as surprised he hadn't known before now."

"Yeah, this'll be our _monthiversary_." She rolled her eyes playfully. "I don't even know what that means. Wally just told me I had to go out and buy a present."

He laughed. "That sounds like him."

"Darcy!" Roy's voice called from the other side of the wall.

"Coming, Speedy!" she called, mischief gleaming in her eye. "Oops, I meant _sweetie_."

"Yes. Yes you did."


	8. Babysitting

**I just want to say that yes, I know nothing much happens in this chapter. We all just needed a bit of light-heartedness after that fireworks display of an opening.**

**. . .**

Robin sat outside the cave on a big rock, watching the waves. He was waiting for a distress signal, something for him to do. He was even dressed in his costume, all ready to go.

"Excuse me? You there!"

He turned in the direction of the female voice and raised an eyebrow. There was a woman standing there, dressed all in black, with dark hair and a slight smirk on her beautiful face. "How did you get here?" he asked, jumping down from the rock.

"Boat, obviously." she said, gesturing to the little speed boat on the sand halfway down the beach. "I was wondering if you could tell me about someone."

"Who?" he asked suspiciously. This woman seemed to know more than she was letting on, but he decided to answer her question.

"A girl. About yay high, black hair, kinda hot? Seen her?" she asked, holding her hand at a rough judgment of a person's height.

_Darcy_. "Why do you ask?"

"I need to give her a message." said the woman, handing over a slip of paper that was sealed with wax. "Get that to her. And if you read it, I'll know."

Suddenly, the com system on his wrist device started beeping, and he turned away to answer it. It was Darcy. "What's up?" he asked, tensing up for action.

"No, stop biting me! Uh, sorry, Robin." she said apologetically. "Just sending a little warning. I'm, uh, bringing an extra person home... Early."

"But I thought you wouldn't be back until-"

"Forget that." she said, suddenly wincing. "Ow! Roy!"

"I got him." came Roy's voice from the background.

She turned back to the screen. "Anyway, I'm on my way back right now. See you then."

"Um, alright. See ya." He switched off the com and turned back to the woman. "Sorry about that. Anyway, I'll-"

But she was gone just as quickly as she'd come, boat and all.

**. . .**

"_Recognize, Shadow, B zero-seven."_

"_Recognize, Red Arrow, B zero-six."_

Robin was waiting for them at the front door. He made a face when Darcy walked in. "You brought a..."

"I know, I know, unorthodox, but maybe he'll have fun." she said, shifting the four-year-old in her arms.

"Where did you get it?" he asked, staring at the thing in fascination.

"It's mine. I mean – my cousin." she said, wincing at her mistake and blushing. "His mom told me to watch the kid, so I had this bright idea to take him to Mount Justice."

"I hope you realize that if this kid grows up to be an evil villain, he'll know exactly where we are." Robin pointed out.

"Not likely. Childhood amnesia. You don't remember anything from before you were five. Look it up. Hey, quit that!" she exclaimed as the child tried to squirm out of her arms. "His name's Ronnie. I figured maybe we could all watch him toge – WALLY! TURN THAT OFF!"

On the couch, Wally jumped in surprise and immediately flipped off the TV. "What?" he asked indignantly.

She handed Ronnie off to Roy and stalked over. "There's a kid in the house. While I would totally show my own children Zombieland at the age of four, I can't do that to other people's kids!"

"So... that's not your kid? Ow! Okay, okay!" he said, rubbing his head where she's hit him. "I'll go get the picture books."

She sighed in irritation, but the second he was out of the room she grinned. "Okay, so, what do we do first?"

**. . .**

After about three hours of watching a four-year-old kid, the entire Young Justice team was having trouble keeping its eyes open. They finally managed to getting him worn out to the point where he was content to watching Tele-Tubbies on the TV. After hours of chasing him and making sure he didn't disturb Tornado while he screamed for cookies, they were grateful. There had even been a scary moment when Wally caught him chewing on one of Robin's Batarangs.

Now, Robin was sitting cross-legged on the floor, head resting on one hand. He was slightly intrigued by the colorful Tele-Tubbies on the show. To have a built-in TV... that was almost better than his wrist gadget. And to have a live vacuum cleaner? It sounded like fun.

Suddenly, he felt a tugging on his cape. He looked back to see a grinning Ronnie sitting behind him on the floor, the black and gold cape draped over his head. The boy was grinning, and, Robin had to admit, looked downright adorable. "Uh... hi."

Ronnie giggled. "Hi."

The side of the Boy Wonder's mouth quirked up in a slight grin. "What are you doing?"

"Hiding. Shh." The little boy was a mess of giggles now.

Deciding to play along, Robin lowered his voice. "Oh. Who are you hiding from?"

"The big guy!" Ronnie said, stretching his arms up and creating a tent in the process. "He said time for nap! I don't wanna nap! I wanna play wif you!"

"Really?" he said, scooping the little guy into his arms. "Well, what do you wanna play?"

Ronnie bounced up and down. "Wanna play Batman! Wanna play Batman!"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Uh... really?"

"I wanna be Batman!"

"Spot's been taken, little dude." Wally said tiredly from the couch.

"And anyway, it's time to go home." Roy said, coming up. To Robin, he whispered, "Darcy's asleep. I'm taking him to her aunt's house."

"Okay. Just give me a second." Robin said, leaning towards Ronnie. "Here. Batman always catches the bad guys." He placed an old pair of Bat-cuffs in the kid's hand. The four-year-old's eyes became saucers.

"I can keep 'em?" he asked with wonder.

"Only if you promise not to abuse your power." the older boy said.

"I promise." Ronnie said solemnly.

"Good. Go on home, buddy. I might see you again sometime."

He smiled as Roy carried Ronnie out of the mountain, then slumped on the floor the moment they were gone. "I am _never_ having kids." he muttered.

On the couch, Darcy snapped upright. "Where – Omigod, where did he go?" she asked, looking around wildly.

"Roy took him home." said Kaldur patiently. "He's fine."

She leaned back again. "Oh, thank God. It's _over_!"

Robin smiled, then suddenly remembered the confrontation on the beach. Reaching into his tool belt as his smile slid away, he extracted the note. "Hey, Darcy, some lady came by today, asked me to give you this."

"You don't know who she was, and yet she got in here?" Darcy asked skeptically.

"No, it was out on the beach. Here." He handed over the note, taking care not to accidentally break the seal.

"Thanks. I'll read it later." she said, returning to the TV.


	9. Whispers

"I'll let Darcy know." Robin assured Batman, heading to the training room. He opened the door to find her vigorously going at the chin-up bar, doing flips instead of the former. Her face had a sort of hardened determination in it. "Um, Darcy? We have a-"

"Shut up!" she snapped, letting go of the bar. From the first second, Robin knew she was going to miss her mark, which was the center of the nearest platform. As he'd guessed would happen, her feet landed on the very edge of the platform, causing her to overbalance. She tried to recover by doing a handstand on the next platform, but the momentum still had a hold of her, and she tilted too far over, falling completely off the obstacle course. He couldn't see her, but he was sure her cry of pure rage could be heard somewhere in Canada.

Wondering what could possibly have happened to make her so mad, Robin spotted a slip of paper on the floor. He recognized the wax, and knew this must be the note he'd given to Darcy. But that had been two weeks ago. She must have avoided reading it like the plague. He picked it up and read what the thin, slanting handwriting had to say.

_Stop looking._

_I'm gone._

_I'm not coming back._

There was no signature. Whoever it was must have been pretty important to Darcy to have an effect like this. Now he wondered more than ever who it was and – quite strangely – wanted to make them pay for what they did to her.

Suddenly, she jumped down in front of him, seeming more fluid than solid. She took the paper and shredded it. "This really is not my week." she told him, still looking angry. "What are you here for?"

"We have a mission." Robin answered. "Batman just stopped by. Something about a mutant fight club."

"Fun." she said, walking out of the training room. "I'm letting you know now, I can't be held responsible for what I might do to the big bad guy."

**. . .**

"So, inform me, oh, Master of Microcenter." Shadow said on the way to their destination. "What _exactly _are we getting into?"

Smirking slightly at the Microcenter comment, Robin turned to the girl next to him. "Well, Batman said some people stumbled upon an underground fightclub. And the fighters... well, they're kinda like Blockbuster."

"Who?"

"Oh, right, you weren't there for that. Anyway, they're huge, super muscley, and really irritable." he finished.

"So, jacked up on uber-steroids, then." she translated. "Nice."

"Yep. Ring leader's name is Howie Demerest. Which is about all the information we got from some deep research."

"We're there to assess the situation, nothing more." Aqualad said firmly.

"Yeah. Like that ever happens." Kid Flash smirked as the ship landed. "Come on, Shady, let's go spook some – What?"

Shadow looked startled. "Um, what's wrong?" she asked.

He looked at her. "I just heard this really creepy voice in my head telling me all will perish."

Everyone stared at him, then Shadow murmured, "Oh, my... How cool is that?" she burst out excitedly.

"What?" Robin asked, looking from her to Kid Flash and back.

"I totally did not know I could do that! I was just mad, so I thought that phrase in my head and Wally heard it!" she said happily.

"You have powers of telepathy?" Aqualad asked seriously. "Try doing it again."

"'Kay." she said, then closed her eyes, thinking, _I know where you sleep_.

Kid Flash's eyes widened. "Yeah, same here, sweet cheeks." he bit out.

Aqualad put a placating hand on his friend's shoulder. "Kid, can you send a message back?"

"Sure thing." said the speedster, looking irritated. They all waited a few seconds, then he said, "Nope, she can't hear me."

"Isn't _she_ supposed to tell us?" Artemis asked.

He gave her a look. "I said something that would have brought out some sort of reaction."

"Yeah. I know." Miss Martian said, a flat expression on her face. "I was in the middle of establishing our mental connection when you did that."

"Oh... my bad." he said apologetically, turning red.

"We can use that." Aqualad said. "Maybe today, even. If we need it."

"Ha! Sure thing, Gills." she laughed. "Oh, I cannot _wait_ to use this on Wally some more!"

"Shouldn't we get moving?" Superboy asked, obviously not amused.

Shadow cocked her head at him, but nodded. "Yeah, alright. Lead the way, Supey."

He nodded and began walking in the direction of the big garage they'd landed near. She was still psyched out about her new-found power, and couldn't wait to torment Wally at their next sleepover. She immediately began coming up with the creepiest phrases and rhymes from her memory and planning on different ways to use them.

Robin watched Shadow carefully, unsure what to think. He had begun putting two and two together in his mind, and he wasn't liking the answer he was getting. This was his list so far.

A girl with intense powers showed up at a random bank robbery

No one seemed to know much about her

She had secrets she'd only share on a need-to-know basis

Those same secrets were why the Justice League didn't trust her

Her powers were fairly creepy now that he thought about it

No, he didn't like where this was going. He'd become fond of his invisible friend, and wasn't ready to admit that she could be potentially dangerous.

"Remember, in and out. That's all." Aqualad whispered as they climbed onto a darkened pathway up by the rafters. They looked down, seeing a crowd of people circled around a rudimentary ring. Two men (if they could be called that) were facing off. One had a shirt torn to shreds hanging off his grossly muscled back, and his skin had a greenish tinge to it. His arms were five times over the legal limit, and his expression showed his mind was gone. The second had much the same features, if not having a slightly less tattered shirt.

"Oh, my God," Shadow murmured, all traces of mischief gone from her face. "What happened to those poor creatures?"

"Maybe they were born like that." Superboy said, surprising her. She gave him a sympathetic look, but knew better than to pat him reassuringly on the shoulder.

"No, I believe they were enhanced." Aqualad said.

"Enhanced how?" Artemis asked, gripping the railing.

"A form of chemical, perhaps. We must know more before jumping to conclusions, though." he answered.

Shadow shook her head as the two men began to fight. The crowd began cheering and yelling out bets for who they thought would win. "Man, that's just sick." she whispered.

That's when she saw him. The man who seemed to be taking the bets and keeping a careful eye on the mutants. He was the leader, she was sure of it. And, if he wasn't, then he was just as bad. Thinking of something that would really mess with his head, she closed her eyes and sent a message his way.

_One bright day in the middle of the night_

_Two dead boys got up to fight_

_Back to back, they faced each other_

_Drew their swords and shot each other_

_The deaf policeman heard the noise_

_He got up and shot those two dead boys_

_If you don't believe this lie is true_

_Ask the blind man, he saw it, too._

"Shadow!" Aqualad hissed. "We are only here to get information!"

She looked at him, eyes wide. "Oh, no! I totally forgot about the mental connection! I'm so sorry!" she said, looking at all their faces. Some looked confused, while others (like Kid Flash and Robin) looked downright terrified.

"Where did you learn that?" the speedster asked quietly.

"Places." she muttered, turning away. "Come on. Let's go see if we can find some labs or something."


	10. Chaos

**I wanted to give a little shout out to Reina Greyson and thank her(? Girl, I think) for the reviews. She's pretty much the one that kept me writing these chapters. Thank you!**

**. . .**

Sneaking around the garage was easier than expected. Only a few guards patrolled the area, and those were easily avoided.

Finding the lab was also simple. There was a door marked "Employees Only" that lead to a staircase going down. Shadow was becoming tense. Either something really bad was about to happen, or they were very, _very _good at their jobs.

"Look," said Miss Martian, sounding infinitely sad. "Look at what they're doing to them."

The team went over to her, and there was a collective gasp. Cages were lined along the walls of a long room, over half containing creatures varying from unconscious, normal men to mutants like the ones fighting above.

"I found what they've been using." said Aqualad from where he stood at a lab table. A white light shone down on it to illuminate colorful test-tubes. There was a small box filled with vials of the same type of liquid, and the box was marked _SMM_.

"What does that stand for?" Artemis asked.

"Strength and Molecular Modification." Kid Flash answered, completely serious. "I've heard rumors about it, but I thought it was just a story for drug dealers to snag customers."

Shadow approached the cage of a half-formed monster, eyes stinging. She knew what it was like. Being stuffed into a cage, injected with multiple, nameless chemicals, constantly afraid that one test might go wrong, as had been the fate of so many other subjects. The thing within the cage looked at her, eyes larger than normal and a look of starvation in its face. The madness hadn't taken effect yet. In his case, it wasn't a good thing. Every second of the transformation was felt, every day knowing that, at some point, he would be a monster, just like the others before him. He wanted to be free.

And for Shadow, all he had to do was look at her. Gritting her teeth, she began opening cages, one by one, fast as she could.

"Darcy, what are you doing?" Aqualad called, sounding shocked. "Information onl-"

"Megan, calm down the bigger ones with your mind." she commanded, voice wavering. "Do it!" she barked when the Martian didn't move. "Robin, pick the locks of the more secured cages. Superboy, you work with Megan. Maybe you can get the more difficult ones to submit."

She was blinking away tears now. She thought her group had been the only ones. In light of this discovery, she had to wonder how many more operations like this were going on at that second. Then Robin's hand was on her shoulder. "Darcy... maybe we shouldn't do this just yet." he said quietly.

She whirled around. "Then when? Should we wait for the League to come and take care of them?" she asked, voice cracking as she spoke. He nodded, but she shook her head. "No. No, we're _so_ not doing that. Do you know what they'll do when they get here? I'm telling you right now, they're definitely not setting these guys free. They'll sit and discuss it for a month, wondering what they should do about it, and by then it'll be way to late for most of the test subjects. Do you see these numbers?" she asked, pointing to the digits stamped on each cage. "That's an estimated lifespan. We're getting them out _now_."

Robin backed up a step, knowing she was dead serious and willing to do anything to get the creatures out. He didn't understand. It's not like she knew these men personally, and they were all mindless at this point anyway. And how would they get the mutants out of the garage? And after that, where would they put them?

But he nodded anyway. "Fine. I'll help." he said, twisting the lock-pick from his glove.

Her eyes closed with relief, and she softly whispered, "Thank you."

Aqualad sighed. "I suppose if we're going to do this, we have to do it fast. Artemis, Wally, try and keep the... men all in one spot. We'll figure out where to go from there."

Everyone was in their places, either calming down fully transformed mutants or freeing and corralling others. Shadow had managed to open all of the cages with Robin's help, and there were about thirty-six mutants in all. Not as many as she'd originally thought, but still too many to break out covertly. "Guys," she said regretfully. "This is gonna be loud."

"I know." said Aqualad, hand on her shoulder. "But... It _is_ the right thing to do. Even if it goes against orders."

"Psh, like orders have ever stopped us before." Kid Flash said, helping on half-formed creature to stand up. "This is just another day at the office. Well, maybe, like, a special occasion or something. But still, the office."

"Robin, can you maybe take the files or something?" Shadow asked. "We could use them to see how to reverse these effects."

"I can't carry them, but I'll try to scan them." he offered.

"You guys ready to make some noise?" Artemis asked, stringing her bow.

Superboy looked around, an expression of hatred on his face. "I want Demerest."

"No." Shadow said quietly, face hardening behind her mask. "This one's mine."

Her tone was so intense that no one argued.

"Um... Miss?"

She whirled around to see a man with a heavily muscled torso and left arm looking at her. "We want to help."

She smiled a little, patting him on the shoulder. "I wouldn't let you pass up that chance."

He smiled back with a sort of vicious gratitude. "We'll do our best."

"Are we all ready?" Aqualad asked. When no one said otherwise, he lead them up the stairs and into the main garage. "Here we go."

**. . .**

Once more, she was caught in a fight she couldn't get out of. Again, she stepped back invisibly to survey the situation. There was a man sneaking up on Aqualad, so she hurriedly ran up and slammed the guy's head against some metal stairs. As she fought off the next guy, she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

Anger was not the word. Nor was furious, hatred, insane, or deranged. There was nothing to describe what Shadow felt as she watched the man who'd caged and killed human beings try to walk out the door with a suitcase full of money. Instead of jumping right on him, as she'd done with Thief, she planned to make Demerest's next few moments a hellish nightmare.

Silent as the night, she scaled a ladder and hung down so she was right above where he would pass. "Boo." she whispered, jumping down quietly. He stopped, eyes wide. Feeling every vile and evil thing she knew rise up within her, she whispered in his ear. "Don't think I'm just going to let you walk away from this."

"Who are you?" he asked, voice shaking.

The voices and sounds of the others melted away. All the world contained at that moment was Demerest and Shadow. To be honest, this wasn't so much "save the world" as a personal vendetta. And, to be even more honest, she didn't really care. What did motives matter when the end result was something good anyway?

Instead of speaking to him directly, she whispered into his mind to scare him further. _'What you've done has not gone unnoticed. We are many, and we are coming. What you did is unforgivable, and you will be punished.'_

His face was now white with fear. She gave a grim smirk of satisfaction, when suddenly she became visible again. She hadn't done it. But it was beyond her control now.

Suddenly, Demerest's eyes widened, familiarity in his expression. "Y – you! I know you! I – The scar – the lab-"

The lab? Could he...?

Slamming him up against the ladder, she looked him in the eye. "What do you know?" she snapped.

"N – not much. J – just that you were our most successful subject. I wasn't directly involved-"

"Then tell me who was." she hissed, patience wearing thin.

"I – I don't think I-"

"Let me put it this way, Dr. Evil," she said, putting her mouth close to his ear as she whispered, a trick to insure cooperation she'd learned from her mentor. "You tell me what I want to know, and you'll live." She wouldn't have ever actually killed him, but he didn't know that.

"O – okay! Th – there's a file in my lab. I – I can get it."

"What's it called?"

"P – Project Fifteen. I swear, I can get it right now-"

"Hm. Too late, buddy. It's already mine. But thanks for telling me what to look for." she said.

Just then, she heard the others calling for her. They must have finished the fight. But she needed one more moment before coming out. "Listen to me, and listen closely," she whispered urgently. "You are going to jail. Maybe worse than that. And I can tell you right now, the League will _not _be happy with your testing. And, if I'm lucky, I'll get _her_ to take you to a prison of her choice. Whatever happens next, you won't be making another dime. So send the message to all of your friends; I'm still here, I'm still angry, and I'm not going away."

Before he could even nod his head to show he'd heard, she'd handcuffed him to the ladder and walked away. "I'm here." she called to the others.

"Good." said Aqualad, looking relieved that he'd found me. "We haven't seen Demerest-"

"It's okay, I got him." she said, dusting off her hands. "He's handcuffed to the ladder over there."

"Oh. All right. We've just contacted the League, and they're on their way."

"What are we doing with these guys?" she asked, gesturing to the mutants.

"We'll know when the League gets here."

**. . .**

**Holy crap! Sorry for the incredibly long delay, guys! I've been working on a different story for a while, and I had to put this on hold. Thanks for all you who favorited, and let's have another shout-out to Reina Grayson for reviewing, yeah? *claps enthusiastically* **


	11. Warehouse

So there they were, gathered in the common area of Mount Justice, the files they'd taken spread out on the floor.

"Here it is." said Kaldur. "The League has allowed us to participate further in this mission due to our success in freeing the victims. This also means we must find a cure for the mutants, and find a place for them to stay while they recover. They will provide us with what we need once we find a solution."

"Let's get crackin'!" said Wally eagerly, rubbing his hands together as he snatched a file. With every folder someone grabbed, Darcy became more tense. What if someone took the folder she needed? But, then, when she moved some files out of the way, she saw the words _PROJECT 15_ stamped in red letters across the manila paper. Stealthily, she slid it from the pile and slipped it into her bag. No one noticed, and no one needed to. She would read it later, when she was alone. It could quite possibly hold the secrets she'd been searching for.

Hours passed, yet no one could make sense of the scientific gibberish written on the pages. "My head hurts." Artemis groaned.

"Here, you can take a break." said Wally tiredly, sliding her file over to himself.

"No, I can read it." she argued.

"You can see letters, you don't know what the words mean." he told her. And he was right. Half the time, everyone had been asking him about the words or processes used in the text. Whatever words he couldn't identify, Robin could, as they were both skilled in the language of science (one in computer, the other in general).

Darcy rubbed her temples, closing her eyes as she attempted to focus.

_Sodium nitrate, glucose substitute, dinitrogenmonocarbon..._

None of the words made sense... but... they were familiar. From honors biology class, maybe? No, the language was too advanced. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, remnants of long-repressed memories surfacing. Slips of paper, tags. She'd seen the words before, even though she didn't know what they meant. And she knew, deep down, even Wally could never figure this stuff out. But she also knew who could.

"Road trip." she said, grabbing the nearest files. "Come on, guys, pack it up."

"Where are we going?" Robin asked, watching as she stood and stretched.

"I know someone who can help us. Come on."

**. . .**

"Are you sure it's here?" Megan asked from the pilot's seat of the ship.

"Positive. Bring 'er down, cap'n." Darcy said dryly, looking out the window at the nearly deserted, dry, dusty parking lot. The ship landed gracefully about a hundred yards from an abandoned warehouse. Other than the building, there were no other signs that anything had been there.

"Darcy," Kaldur said, a hint of warning in his voice. "What is this?"

"We just need to talk to some people I know." she said. They shared a look, and she shook her head. "Look, this isn't what we talked about, alright? This isn't about that. It's different." Even though she sounded confident, she avoided his eyes and continued walking. "Come on... They're in here."

She strode to the doors and had her hand on the press-bar when something came out of the wall, scaring most of the team. 

"Gah! What the-"

"What is it?" Wally asked fearfully, effectively cutting Robin's exclamation short.

"Relax, Kid, it's just Hammer." Darcy said calmly, looking at the thing that seemed to be made of moving brick. As they watched, the brick turned into a human, or something like it. The face was slightly deformed, and he was long and gangly.

"Ah, Darcy," he said in a smooth, quiet voice. "Long time no see, eh?"

"Been busy." she said. "We allowed in?"

"Oh, sure, sure. For you, anything." he said, placing a hand on his chest and bowing as he stepped back. He grinned at the others as they filed past; a somewhat horrible image, but not threatening.

As they entered they warehouse, the only light was from the high windows, and they could see the place contained at least sixty creatures only in the main room. They were all humanoid, but most had odd growths or extra appendages growing on them. The mutants watched suspiciously as the little group passed, not moving or removing their gaze.

"Hey, hey, hey!" said a rough, booming voice. "If it ain't Darcy Darke!"

She turned, and a wry smile graced her lips. "Well, if it ain't Mojo. How's the kid?"

The huge, dark mutant chuckled, a nice, rumbling sound. "He's good, he's good. Girlfriend's been takin' him to kindergarten. Kid's growin' up so fast."

"Good to hear." she said sincerely.

"Ooh... Look who's back." said a slick, oily voice. Everyone turned to see a skinny, pale mutant approach. "Daaarcyyy..."

She made a disgusted noise. "Get lost, Sleaze, nobody likes you."

"I'm hurt, Darcy, really." he said, sounding almost like he was hissing. "You know you've missed me." He snaked a pale arm around her waist, pulling her close.

"I said, step off!" she growled, pushing against him.

Suddenly, Mojo lifted him up by the jacket, effectively releasing Darcy. "You know the rules, Sleaze. Don't touch the girl."

"Right, right, yes, I'll remember that. Now, _put me down_, you oaf!" Sleaze said irritably. Mojo dropped him, and he slunk away, muttering things under his breath.

Mojo shook his head. "Sorry about that. Sleaze hasn't changed a bit since you left. Who're your friends?"

She gestured to the group around her. "This is the younger version of the Justice League. We need some help."

He stiffened slightly, as did the team. "Darcy," Kaldur murmured. "Why did you have us come here in our street clothes?"

"Relax, Gills," she muttered. "They can't tell anybody who'll care. Like, physically, they can't."

"Why did you bring them here?" Mojo asked, tone bordering on the brink of accusing.

"Like I said, we need your help." she told him. "We're not here to run you out of the warehouse; I wouldn't be the one telling you."

He regarded her for a moment. "I don't know..."

"Then take a look at this." she said, handing over one of the files.

He scanned the page, and his eyes grew huge. "I know what this is." he said quietly. "Let me get Belt."

Mojo left, and the team was left to stand in the middle of the warehouse floor, inspecting their surroundings. As Robin looked around, he noticed just how many mutants there were, all looking at them with wary, fearful expressions. There were plenty of young people, too. Teenagers like them.

Five in particular stood out to him. Three girls and two guys, all looking too skinny and with some obvious physical anomaly. One of the girls caught his eye before looking quickly away.

"What is this place?" he asked quietly.

"Hm? Oh, the warehouse?" she said distractedly, having been inspecting a file. "This is... uh... where people go when their powers go wrong." Her voice had an odd note to it, like something wasn't quite right. "For a lot of them, this is really the only home they've ever known."

"How?" asked Wally incredulously. "It's so... dark."

"Why would you care how dark it is if you finally found people who understand you?" she asked.

"I'm guessing you've been there?" Conner said quietly.

She looked taken aback. "Wha – I-"

"Darcy!" someone called. They looked over to see a heavily scarred man walking up, grinning a lopsided grin. "Thought you walked out on us!"

"Only for a while." she said, stepping into his open arms.

"So, Mojo here says you need some help." said the big man, obviously Belt.

"You know about that underground fight club?" she asked, stepping back.

His face became somber. "I heard rumors. Someone said they got taken down."

Darcy nodded. "That was us. We rescued the mutants, but... there's a lot."

"Well, you know they're always welcome-"

"But that's the thing." she interrupted. "There's a _lot_. I don't know if you've got the space to hold them long-term. So, I was thinking maybe you could help us decode this sciency stuff since you were... around it the longest." At this, she looked away for a moment, touching the crook of her right arm. "Then we could find a cure. You could hold the men here until they were better."

Belt nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, anything to help, Darce."

She smiled. "Thanks. I owe you one."

He waved a hand. "Don't mention it. And, you know, come let me know if the League's giving you any more trouble."

"I think I can handle them." she said quietly, turning away.

"Well, then, drop by now and then, ya know?" he said, giving her another hug. "We miss you around here. Ain't nobody who could make people smile like you could."

"I'll do my best. Say goodbye to Mojo for me." she said, leading the team out of the warehouse. As they reached the door, she suddenly stopped. "Wait here, I'll be right back." she said, running over to Belt. "Here," she murmured, giving him the file labeled _PROJECT 15_. "Let me know about anything you find. I... can't have it at the base."

He nodded, slipping it into his jacket covertly. "Anything for you, Darce."

She ran back to the others, where Kaldur fell in step beside her. "We are going to have a talk." he muttered so no one else could hear.

Darcy nodded. "Just don't tell the League where we've been."


	12. Complications

"You were not authorized!"

"It wasn't a mission!" Darcy snapped back.

"That doesn't matter! You took the team into dangerous territory without the knowledge of anyone in the League!" Batman accused.

Darcy became beyond angry at this. _"Dangerous?"_ she asked, putting as much venom into her voice as she could. "_Dangerous_? Excuse me, _oh mysterious one_, but you have no grounds to be saying that! You can't possibly know who they are or what they've been through! I don't _care_ if your parents died when you were young! Those people never _had_ any!"

If Batman wasn't trained in restraining himself, he would have hit the girl then and there. How dare you." he said quietly. "I risked a lot by getting you on this team. But this situation is getting worse by day. If it doesn't stop, I will be forced to personally remove you from this team, is that clear?"

"For what? Telling you you're wrong?"

The situation had become dangerous. She was putting _herself_ in danger. Knowingly. And she wasn't afraid.

"Training?"

They both looked towards the door, where Black Canary stood, eyebrow raised. "Darcy needs to come for training."

"In a minute." said Batman, turning back to the girl.

"No. Now."

Darcy gave him one last scathing look before leaving with Canary to go to the training room. They had obviously already started, with Kaldur and Conner already sparring on the platform. Robin looked over at Darcy, noting her stony expression. He wasn't sure about her anymore. He found he liked her a lot, despite the fact that Batman hated her and she seemed to have a past that justified this. But, even though she was apparently dangerous, she intrigued Robin. She was a big mystery, and those were the things he was best at solving.

"Okay, Darcy, you're up." said Canary. "And why don't you face Robin for today?"

Darcy seemed to have shaken off her anger. She wasn't as happy-go-lucky as normal, but at least she was more relaxed. She smiled at Robin as they stepped up to the platform. "Ready?" she asked.

"When am I not?" he asked, giving her a sweeping bow. "Ladies first."

She got into a crouch, then lunged. Suddenly, in the middle of this, she turned invisible.

"Foul!" Wally called.

"Yeah, not fair!" Artemis laughed.

"Darcy, you're not supposed to use your powers. That's the point of this." Canary admonished.

"What are you doing?" Robin hissed, pinning Darcy to the floor.

"It's not me!" she whispered back, sounding afraid.

"What?" he asked as she began violently pushing against him.

"Get off!"

"How? I can't see you to know where you are!"

"Move!" she cried, throwing him off. She turned visible, and everyone could see her stumbling backward as she got to her feet. Her expression was panicked, looking at Robin on the floor.

"Darcy, what's going on?" Canary called.

"I – I don't know!" she exclaimed just as two jets of light shot from her hands, narrowly missing Robin.

"What's wrong with you!" he shouted, backing up.

"It's not me! I'm not doing it!" she cried, stuffing her hands under her arms as she went invisible once more. The next time they could see her, she was on the ground. Then she began flickering, unable to stay in one state for longer than a second.

Canary ran up onto the platform and put a hand to the girl's forehead. "She's burning up!" she announced.

"What's going on?" Batman barked, entering the room. He caught sight of Robin's singed cloak, which the latter had failed to notice, and looked directly at Canary. "I want her out of here."

"Something's wrong." Canary objected. "She needs help."

"She's dangerous. She shouldn't have come here in the first place."

"She _needs_ her mentor!"

"NO!" he yelled viciously. "I will _not_ tolerate her within these walls!"

"What the heck is going on?" Wally asked.

"Batman!" Canary shouted, standing. "I don't care what issues you have with people who may or may not help us! You _will_ get Darcy's mentor, or so help me, I will-"

"There's no need to fret, Canary, love." said a voice from the shadows. "I'm already here."

**. . .**

**Short chapter, yes. But this is where I wanted it to stop. So, tell me: Who is the mentor?**


	13. Mentor

**Sorry, guys. I forgot to mention that chapter 11 was the end of Part Two and chapter 12 was the beginning of Part Three. Just to clear things up.**

**. . .**

The room was completely and utterly silent. It was a known fact she wasn't allowed in Mount Justice. No one even knew where her loyalties were anymore, as it had been so long since she'd surfaced from hiding. And how had she gotten into the mountain, anyway?

"How did you get in here?" Batman snarled.

"I'm sneaky, Batty." she drawled calmly, as though nothing was amiss. "It's what I do."

"Leave."

"No." she said, drawl vanishing. "What did you do to her?"

"I have done nothing."

"How do I know that?" Selina Kyle said. Robin may have been imagining it, but her tone sounded hurt. "I told you to keep her safe, Batman. I made you promise. And I come in to check on her, and _this_ is what I find?" She mounted the platform and went to Darcy's side, laying a hand on her. "She deserved better."

"And you think _you_ can give her that?"

Catwoman whipped her head around. "Of course I can't, I'm not stupid. That's why I gave her to _you_."

The only person in the entire room who noticed, who _could_ notice, Batman's expression of discomfort was Robin. He'd messed up. And now he knew that.

"Forgive my interruption, but I do not care who helps Darcy." said Kaldur suddenly. "I just care that she is helped. I would like to know what is wrong."

"Her powers are malfunctioning." said Canary. "In my experience, that sort of problem has a tendency to not get fixed."

"I know what's wrong." said Selina, shifting Darcy. She pulled at the girl's collar and nodded grimly. "The date. It's tomorrow."

"Date?" asked Wally. Robin moved forward and looked at the tattoo now exposed on Darcy's shoulder.

"She's right." he said. "It... it looks like an expiration date."

"So she can't be helped." said Artemis angrily.

"No, she can." Selina said, lifting Darcy easily into her arms and handing her to Conner. "If you find the right people. Take her to your medical ward. I need to pay some very old friends a visit."

**. . .**

When Batman walked into the kitchen area, the accusing stares were unavoidable. He ignored them anyway.

"You have some explaining to do." said Artemis quietly.

"I owe you nothing." Batman said, his back turned.

"Maybe. But you definitely owe Darcy." said Wally.

"And even if you didn't," said Robin firmly. "We still have a right to know."

The Dark Knight was silent. After a short time, Kaldur spoke. "If you do not tell them, I will."

"What, is there something _else_ you've been hiding?" Superboy said scathingly.

"Stop." said Megan, speaking for the first time since Darcy collapsed. "Kaldur had reasons last time, he'll have reasons this time."

"Thank you, Me'Gahn." Kaldur said. He looked up at Batman. "I will tell them. They deserve to know."

"Fine." he said, leaving the room. "I won't be part of it."

Then, they were all looking at Kaldur. He took a breath, fully aware he was breaking a promise. "Darcy was trained by Catwoman, as has been made obvious. Two years ago, however, she abandoned Darcy on the streets. The League would not take her in because they did not trust an apprentice of Catwoman. So she had to make her own way until someone convinced the League to let her join us. She was almost forgotten until the night of that bank robbery a few months ago."

"The one where we met her." Megan said quietly.

"Correct." he said. "However, as far as this expiration date is concerned, I am at a loss."

"That still doesn't explain why you hid this from us." Conner said.

"I made a promise." Kaldur said sharply, looking directly at the Superboy. "She was afraid you wouldn't trust her, as had been the occurrence so many times before. The only reason she told me was because I am team leader."

It suddenly dawned on Robin that _this_ had been what he heard Darcy and Kaldur arguing about that first night. And this also explained the note. Selina had even delivered it herself, but hadn't been in costume at the time, so she was almost unrecognizable. Another thing this explained was her unnatural sneaking abilities. Being trained by Catwoman, one might just be able to slip through any security system.

"But we still don't know what's wrong with her." said Megan. "She could be dying."

"Selina seemed to know what was going on." Artemis pointed out. "Even more than Batman. She'll probably be the one to save her."

"Guys," said Wally, a sad expression on his face. "I just had a thought."

"What?" asked Kaldur.

"Well, you remember those mutants we saved from the fight club?" he asked. They nodded. "They had dates printed on them, too. And on their cages, remember? What if... What if Darcy was in the same boat?"

"That's crazy." said Artemis, though she didn't sound so sure. "I mean, they were all gross-looking. Darcy looks just like us."

"Except she can turn invisible and shoot sunlight from her hands." said Robin quietly. "Maybe Wally's right. She _was_ the first one to start opening cages, and she had those mutant friends that are helping us with the files."

"It makes sense." said Wally. "She was probably used for experiments."

"But – but that's illegal!" Artemis protested. "How could they get away with that? If Darcy's fifteen, how can the League not have known about this?"

"Maybe they have." said Kaldur. "We all know they like to keep secrets. Perhaps some of them knew about the experiments and failed to put a stop to them. Or, another possibility, maybe the people doing the experiments are very good at lying about what they do."

"Whatever the reason," said Conner. "It's obvious they haven't been stopped. Maybe we can find those people and get them to tell us what's wrong."

"I think that's the best idea I've heard all day." Robin said. "Where do we start?"

"You don't." said Canary, entering the kitchen. "Since you guys are so bent on hearing honesty, have a little more. Selina already left to find the people you're looking for, and she knows exactly where they are. However, we do have another job for you."

"And what's that?" Conner asked slightly more venomously than he meant.

She cocked her head at him, having caught his tone. "The League has found a suitable place for the rest of the mutants. You're to help move them."

"It's better than doing nothing." Megan said quietly amid the others' groans.


	14. Help

Selina Kyle walked up to the warehouse, an empty sack slung over her shoulder. A man appeared to step right out of the wall next to the door. He wore a sly grin on his face, but the moment he recognized her, it vanished. "Hey, you – I know you!" he said, voice shaking slightly. "Look, Darcy left. We couldn't stop her-"

"I know she did." Selina said evenly. "May I enter?"

He nodded, bowing out of the way. "Sure, Miss Kyle. I won't stop you."

She pushed the door open and walked into the warehouse. The first person to greet her was Mojo.

"Selina," he said, sounding happy yet suspicious. "It's been a long time."

"I need to see Belt." she said. "Please, I can't waste any time."

"Funny," he said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Darcy was here just a few days ago with the same request."

"This isn't a request." she said.

"No tricks?"

"No tricks."

He nodded. "I'll go get 'im."

Selina stood in the warehouse, looking around. She didn't care much for mutants. Darcy was the only one she would ever truly like. She didn't have any gross appendages popping out of her. Though, if she didn't act fast, that might be a possibility.

"Miss Kyle," said Belt, walking out. He was less cordial to Selina as he had been to Darcy, if only because he didn't know the woman very well. All he could go on was that she had abandoned Darcy, and that was an unacceptable concept. "Something I can do for you?"

"Listen, Belt." she said, talking quickly. "I don't have much time. Darcy's date is tomorrow, and the effects have started early. I know you hung around the Lab for a while, and I need your help."

He gave her a dead serious expression, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Funny," he said quietly. "I have exactly the thing that will help you. Brought to me a few days ago by none other than Darcy."

This gave her pause. "Sorry?"

"She and her friends took out that underground fight club." he said. "I'm sure you've heard. They stole the files that were kept there and she asked for my help in deciphering them. She brought me one particular file she wanted to be kept secret, but, in your case, I think I can make an exception."

"What file?" Selina asked urgently.

"Mojo, can you bring it?" he asked. Mojo nodded and left, and Belt turned back to Selina. "The Project Fifteen file. I've been going over it. Maybe there's something in there that can help."

"What about the scientists?" she asked. "Do you think it's safe to ask them?"

His face hardened. "Even if it was, it wouldn't be advisable. They're insane, Selina. I don't know why you'd even think about it. You know what they did to Darcy."

"How could I forget? I had to deal with it for five years." she said bitterly as Mojo returned with the file. She slipped it into her bag and nodded at Belt. "We're in Mount Justice. Send a message if you need to get in. If you think you can help."

"Hey, if I get any bright ideas, you'll be the first to know." he said as she left the warehouse.

**. . .**

Robin sat by Darcy's bed. She looked so tiny against the white sheets. She was pale, and would occasionally flicker in and out of visibility. He thought about what Wally had said. It was more than just possible that she gained her powers through human experimentation. Most of the Justice League had gotten their powers through some weird freak incident. But this... this was a little extreme. It was actually downright demented. Something he could really only expect from the Joker.

He heard footsteps behind him, and they stopped suddenly at the door. "Robin."

He turned, seeing Selina looking at him in surprise. "Did you get help?"

She nodded, then pulled a folder from her bag. "It's her folder. From... before."

"Before what?" he asked.

"Before I found her." she answered. "I don't know much about it; she didn't talk about it much. But I know she used to be Project Fifteen."

His heart sank as he realized what this meant. "So she _was_ created in a lab."

She nodded. "That's as far as I know. Look, we only have until the end of the day tomorrow to fix her." She sat in the chair next to Robin and set the file on the bed. "Help me?"

He looked at Darcy, then nodded. "Anything you need."

**. . .**

After reading Darcy's file, Robin felt everything had been turned upside down. The Darcy he knew and this Project Fifteen version of her were two completely different people, yet unavoidably the same. His Darcy was a hero, someone who only worked for the common good. Wait, _his_ Darcy? She wasn't his. She was Roy's.

No. He had to focus. But it was hard. His head was hurting from the complications this file provided. All of Batman's hatred for Darcy made complete sense in light of this new information. Darcy was made specifically to be a weapon. A weapon for anything and anyone who would dare fight her. Every cell in her body was programmed for destroying people that crossed her. The strength to resist that instinct would have to be enormous, and it was a wonder she'd lasted this long.

"Did you know?" he asked quietly, looking at the girl on the bed.

"I assumed, yes. I didn't know for sure." Selina said quietly. "She was so quiet about it. No wonder she was a great apprentice. She did the good stuff, but could easily do the bad." She looked at Robin. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know what to think." he admitted. "There's a whole other side to her that no one ever saw before. It's like she's two different people altogether."

"The fact that you're having trouble means you want to believe she's good."

"Of course I do."

"Then let me help." she said, looking at him intently. "She _is_ good. She's better than me. So don't be suspicious of her just because of some words printed on a page. Use those to save her."

He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "It's obvious what's wrong, right? Her grafted DNA is malfunctioning. It was planned to happen anyway. I don't even know if it's fixable."

"It has to be fixable. Why else would they make something as advanced as her?" Selina asked.

He ran a hand over his face. "As a test run... maybe." he said in a small voice.

She looked at him. "Look, I don't care what she was originally made for. She's too much of a person to die now like some lab rat. So are you going to help me save her or not?" she said savagely.

"Look, I would if I could, but this is really complex stuff." he argued. "What if she can't be fixed?"

She reached over and snatched the rest of the file away. "I don't accept that." she snarled.

Robin watched her go, sighing, then turned back to Darcy. In her features, he could find nothing that hinted at her past life. She looked... ordinary. Like she couldn't turn invisible, like she couldn't shoot light from her palms, like she was never created in a lab...

It was at that moment he realized he didn't care. The girl on the bed was Darcy Darke, not Project Fifteen or any other test subject. She was his friend, his personal mystery. He was going to save her if it killed him.

So he grabbed his costume, donned it, and left to find this secret lab.

**. . .**

**So, I watched the episode with the magical, black-haired chic who flirted with Robin the whole time, and I was like, "Oh, _hell_ no!" So I had to add a little bit of Robin's angsty, confused feelings for Darcy in this chapter. There will be plenty more later, believe me.**


	15. It

"What are we doing here?" Kid Flash said angrily. "We should be helping Darcy!"

"We're doing what she wanted." said Aqualad. "Isn't that enough?"

"You make it sound like she's dead. She's not. Not yet, anyway, and she won't be if we could _help her_!" he argued.

"Wally, stop!" Miss Martian said, face showing distress. "I don't want to talk about that."

"Well, what do _you_ wanna talk about?" asked Artemis as they shepherded mutants into a giant, empty hangar. "As far as I'm concerned, Darcy is our top priority. But, hey, if you don't think you can handle that-"

"Enough." said Aqualad. "If you are all so distracted, I will contact Robin and we will see how she is fairing."

"Fine." said Kid Flash. "Make it quick."

The leader turned away and held up the communicator on his wrist. He tapped in the signal for the identical one Robin wore and waited patiently for the Boy Wonder to pick up.

But he didn't.

Aqualad tried again, and again he was met with silence. Something was wrong.

"This is most concerning." he said as he walked back to the others.

"What is?" asked Superboy.

"Robin is not answering. He is only at Mount Justice, he should have picked up immediately." Aqualad said.

"Unless he isn't." said Kid Flash.

"That _would_ be something he'd do. Sneak off when he was supposed to say put." said Artemis.

"It's something we'd _all_ do." said Megan. "Do you have any idea where he went?"

"I can't even see a reason as to why he would leave." Aqualad admitted. 

"Should we contact the League?" she asked.

"No." he said, surprising the others. "If he did leave the mountain, it is likely he did it because of something very important. We should help, rather than hinder."

"How, if we're here?" said Kid Flash.

"I think it's time to call in a favor." Aqualad said. "Wally, contact Captain Marvel. We have bigger problems to take care of."

**. . .**

Robin strode into the office building. After breaking into the fifth floor, it was obvious the space wasn't used for cubicles. There were test tubes and lab experiments all over, and the lights had been changed out for more precise examination. Every floor except the first two were like that. Scientists filled the place, talking in clusters here and mixing chemicals there. When he got to the seventh floor, however, the general innocence of the science changed drastically. There were cages everywhere, just like in the fight club. Inside, however, things ranged from inhuman things to children who looked completely normal. Robin recoiled at first, stunned that anyone would do this to a human being.

"You!"

He whirled around and saw one of the white-coated scientists pointing an accusing finger at him. "You're not supposed to be here!" he shouted.

"Wait!" said Robin. "I need to talk to somebody!"

"I oughtta call security on you, boy!" he spat.

"Who was in charge of Project Fifteen?"

The scientist's eyes grew wide. "How do you know about that?"

"Please, it's an emergency! Who was in charge?"

"Well, that's Dr. Branhardt in the east wing. How do you-"

"No time. Thanks!" he called, running down the hall. He pulled up the blueprints for the building, and somehow managed to find the right office. Without bothering to knock, he entered the office. "I need answers." he demanded immediately.

"Certainly, Mr. Robin. But you must first ask ze qvestions." said the man behind the desk without missing a beat.

Robin was taken aback only for a moment. "Project Fifteen. She was your project. Your experiment, right?"

The man, Dr. Branhardt, looked at him, shocked. "Zat vas my project, yes. Eet was my finest veapon."

"She's dying." Robin said. "We need to help her."

"Of course she ees dying." he said, surprised. "Vy else vould I haf made ze ozzers?"

Robin took a step back. "Others?"

"Yes." Dr. Branhardt said, walking around his desk. "Project Two ees my newest von. Very advanced. I do not know eef eet has an expiration date."

Robin was angry. "Are you kidding me? You're just gonna let her die?"

"Not only am I going to let eet die, Mr. Robin," he said calmly. "I created eet vith specifically zat purpose een mind."

"But she's a hero!" he shouted. "She's with the Justice League now! She has a purpose!"

"For ze Justice League?" Brandhardt said, shocked again. "Vy?"

"Because she broke the code you put in her DNA! She resisted it! She's _saved_ people! Don't you want her to keep doing that?"

"Eet ees none of my concern." he said dismissively. "Eet ran away, eet does not need to come back."

"You're a murderer! That's what you are! A murderer!"

"Zat ees too much!" Branhardt said. "Zere is no need for such noise! Eet is not human, zerefore, I do not murder."

Robin was about to burst from anger. "SHE IS NOT AN IT!" he exploded. "SHE IS DARCY DARKE, SHE DESERVES SO MUCH MORE THAN YOU, AND SHE'S MORE HUMAN THAN YOU WILL _EVER_ BE! YOU SICK, TWISTED, MINDLESS _MONSTER_!"

"Robin!"

He whirled around to see Aqualad standing in the doorway, Artemis, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Superboy behind him.

"Zere are more?" Branhardt exclaimed.

"Time to go, dude." said Kid Flash.

"Not until I get answers!" Robin said, still worked up.

"Obviously he's not giving you any!" said Artemis. "Let's _go_!"

"Then maybe this will help get his jaw working." Robin said, shoving the scientist against the wall. "Tell me! How do I help her!"

There was genuine terror in his eyes as he looked down at Robin. "I – I do not know! I haff never tried stopping ze process before! E-eef you can reverse ze effects, maybe-"

"Great. That's all I needed." he said, dropping the man and running as alarms began going off. "Come on, we need to get back to the mountain!"


	16. Cure

All six teens ran into the mountain, breathless. "I can fix this!" Robin shouted, running through the headquarters. "Someone fill the tub with ice! I'll go get Darcy!"

"What's ice gonna do?" asked Wally, running at Robin's speed so they could talk.

"She's burning up! The sunlight within her can't be contained anymore! We need to cool her off!" he said.

"What about the invisibility issues?" Wally asked.

"We need Selina for that!"

"Great. Now that we've got a plan..." Wally grabbed his friend, slung him onto his back, and poured on the speed to the medical ward. They got there in seconds, and as soon as they did, Robin jumped down and flung the sheets off of Darcy. "Can you carry her?"

"Dude, she's, like, the size of a toothpick."

"Fine. Just get her to where they're pouring the ice. I'll go find Selina." he said, running out of the room again. The first place he looked was the kitchen, where he found her and Batman talking in low, angry voices. He didn't care. Batman could punish him later. "Selina, we need you!" he said, grabbing her arm.

"Robin, what-"

"What are you doing?" Batman asked.

"Saving Darcy. Selina, we've got her fever covered. You need to get her to stay visible." he said, dragging her to where the tub was.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Will this work?"

"Right now, it's all we've got." he told her. "You did it before, you can do it again."

"I had more time then!"

"It's different now! She's already learned what to do, you just need to help her remember!"

They ran into the room where a tub was being filled with ice. Wally was holding Darcy, waiting for someone to tell him to put her in.

"Okay, now is good." said Megan, emptying a bag of ice. He put her in the tub, and they upended one last bag on top of her.

"Where did you get all the ice?" Selina asked.

"Freezer." Conner grunted.

"We have a big one here." said Artemis.

"It's your turn." Kaldur said, making way for her to crouch next to Darcy.

"She's not awake yet." Wally protested.

"She... kinda... is..." said a weak voice. They all turned to look at Darcy, whose eyelids were slowly fluttering open. She looked like death, and Robin checked his watch to realize they'd already used up the better part of their time running around trying to get information.

"You'd better hurry." said Wally. "The constant fluctuating is draining her body density. If this isn't fixed, her atoms could tear apart."

"Good morning, my little Shadow," Selina said, falling back into her lazy drawl. "You slept a while."

"Yeah, well... Full body shut-down will do that to you." she joked.

"Look at you. Can't even stay visible for two seconds. I taught you better." Selina admonished.

"I... I can't." she murmured, and Robin was terrified to hear defeat in her voice. She couldn't give up now. He'd worked so hard, and he needed her to keep going.

"What did I tell you about the 'c' word?"

"There's no such thing as can't unless you can't go for drinks." Darcy recited. "You told me that after some guy tried to hit on me."

"Right. So if you just concentrate-"

"Concentrate?" she asked, sounding a little angry. "Why can't you just let me die?"

"Darcy!" Wally exclaimed.

"Hush!" Selina said, sounding irritated herself. "You listen to me, Shadow. I trained you better than that. Are you telling me you're giving up just because some guy said you were disposable?"

"No, I'm saying-"

"Or are you telling me you can't do it because you don't want to?" Selina asked. "Because, to me, it sounds like you just don't care."

"No, I – I don't-"

"You'd like us to give up on you, wouldn't you? You'd like me to leave again."

"Why won't you listen to me?" Darcy shouted. "All you ever do is leave! You left me on my own for two years before someone finally found me! And you know what? I'm better off! I'm _so_ much better off! I didn't stop looking for you because of your note! I stopped looking because I found something more here! They treat me like I'm important! Like I'm _equal_! Well, the team does, at least. All you ever did was treat me like a sidekick! Like I was second best! Well I'm not! I'm better than that! I'm better than you, and I'm better than what those stupid scientists thought they turned me into! So if I have to save the entire world just to prove to you that I don't just give up, that I _can_ do everything everyone says I can't, then so help me, I will save the frickin' universe!"

Over the entire course of her rant, she'd slowly been becoming more and more solid. But, as much as this was noticed, it didn't impact anyone nearly as much as her words. Selina had taken the speech badly. Tears glistened in her eyes, though her expression was still lazy and uncaring. "See? All you needed was a little motivation. Anger was always your strongest emotion."

"Maybe that's because I have a lot to be angry about." Darcy said quietly.

"Did it work?" asked Canary, entering the room. She sighed with relief. "Oh, thank God."

"Good job." Batman said, entering the room. "Aside from disobeying orders and rescuing a dangerous weapon."

"Hey!" Wally cried.

"That's not fair!" Robin snapped. "What did she ever do to you?"

He turned, as though to leave. "_That_ is none of your concern."

When he walked out, there was an awkward silence. Batman seemed to have more secrets than he could handle, and they were beginning to come out one by one. Canary clapped her hands together, getting everyone's attention. "When her fever goes down, we can get her back to the medical ward. For now, I think Selina deserves a thank you."

Everyone looked over, but she was already gone. "She was just there!" Megan said.

"Did anyone see her go?" asked Wally.

"There is only one exit. How could she have gotten past us?" asked Kaldur.

"There are seven exits, actually." Darcy said, not looking at anyone. "It was time for her to go. She likes leaving people like that."


	17. Story

If there was one thing Robin could credit Darcy with, it was her ability to bounce back. In just a little under two weeks, she was back to teasing Wally and sparring with Artemis. She was tough, no question.

The first time he encountered her alone in those two weeks, however was in the kitchen. He was in there, eating an apple, when Darcy walked in. She smiled. "Hey, Robin. What's up?"

He shrugged. "Nothing very exciting. You?"

"Just came for a snack." she said, taking an apple and sitting on the counter beside him.

"No Roy today?" Robin asked, suddenly realizing he hadn't seen Red Arrow in a while. Which was odd, since she had recently been on her death bed. Shouldn't he have at least come with flowers or something? Well, not _flowers_, really, since she didn't like people bringing her those...

She made a face. "Nah. We kinda broke up, like, a month ago."

He was surprised. "Why?"

"He... couldn't handle me." she said carefully.

"Well, that's odd," he said, aware that the conversation was going south if he didn't do something. "I was under the impression _he_ was hard to handle. What with his daddy issues and what-not."

She snorted. "That _did_ get a little annoying. I remember he – oh!"

"What?"

She was looking at something above him, surprised. "I found my comic book." she said. "The one Wally took a few weeks after I got here."

Robin looked up and spotted the edge of the graphic novel peeking out on top of the fridge. "What comic?"

"Deadpool."

"How long has that been up there?"

"I'unno." she said, reaching up to get it. She had to lean over him to do so, and, suddenly, without Robin having known how, their eyes met. His heart was racing faster than it should have, and she looked surprised herself, but it was like neither could look away. They sort of began tilting towards each other, so close, even closer...

"I have to know." Robin said, turning his head.

The breath caught in Darcy's throat, and she backed up, looking slightly upset with herself. "What?" she asked, not looking at him.

"What... what happened? In the lab, I mean."

She blinked, then looked over at him, pain flashing in her eyes. "Do you really want to know, or do you just want to confirm what the file says?"

"Is the file what actually happened?"

She sighed. "Come on. I – I wanna talk, but not here." she said, sliding off the counter. Robin followed all the way to her room, where she closed the door and flipped on the lights. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Can you tell me what the lab was for?" he asked.

She sat in a chair and gestured for him to sit on the bed. "I know a lot more than I should about the Lab. I know they said they were doing testing for the good of the human race, so the government gave them the green light to start experimenting. Actually, the Lab got enough money for one hundred projects, if they used their money wisely. So they counted backwards. I never met Project One-Hundred. I think he was probably their fastest failure, just because he was the first. There were forty projects still alive when I left, but a lot of them were just waiting until their expiration date kicked in. I was number fifteen, and I still wasn't good enough to keep."

"How?" Robin asked. "I mean, look at you. No one even guessed that you were an experiment."

"Because I was – _am_ a prototype." she said. "They made a Project Two, and she was supposed to be the last one unless the scientists got a really good idea for the last slot. They used me along with Three through Thirteen as a series of final drafts before Two, but we all had different powers." Darcy shook her head. "I felt _so_ sorry for her. I mean, the rest of us at least knew that, at some point, we were probably completely human. But Two's DNA was completely wiped. She had white hair and gray eyes, and they totally brainwashed her. They did a better job than the rest of us, since she didn't even think like a human. She knew she was a weapon to be used, and she would be disposed of when her purpose had been fulfilled. It was everyone's mantra at the Lab. Someone must have changed her way of thinking, though, because I heard she escaped last year."

Robin sat and took this all in. How could the Lab not have been stopped? This was the worst crime anyone could commit! "What about you?" he asked. "What was your story?"

She shook her head and looked out the window. "Selina showed up one day. I still don't know why. But she said she looked at me, broke the lock on my cage, and I went with her out the window. I must have known she wasn't part of the Justice League, and she was helping me, so she was one of the first people I didn't actually want to destroy. But..." She looked at him pleadingly. "I'm not... a monster. I can control it. My file... they told me I would bring down the League one day, and... And I almost did once. But that was a long time ago, back when the scientists controlled me. I heard you tried to go to my creator to fix me. He didn't care, did he? It's because he can't control me anymore. If he did, you can bet he would have tried to get me back."

"Is it because you ran away?" he asked. "Is that why he doesn't control you?"

"No. Part of the reason I was programmed so well was because part of my DNA is technological. And I hacked it. Well, sort of. I could only get it to the point where I couldn't get signals transmitted from the Lab, and they couldn't pinpoint my location. I still go a little crazy every once in a while, though. Resisting your programming isn't easy, and I'm pretty sure Tornado can attest to that."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Robin asked.

"Because they already knew." Darcy said, sounding hurt. "That's why the League doesn't trust me. They know what I am."

"Then why haven't they stopped it?" he asked. "They should have at least tried."

"They have tried. Repeatedly. The thing is, no one knows who runs the place. Not even the workers. There's too much risk. I know Batman's been on the case forever, which is how he knew about me." she said. "There haven't even been any rumors because it's just not safe."

"So what do we do about it?" he asked.

She snorted. "_We_ do nothing. Let the League handle it. I'm done dealing with those madmen. All they've ever done is ruin my life, and if I never have to get close to them again, it'll be too soon. Besides, Batman's got a grudge. He could take 'em down if he just tried."

**End Part Three**


	18. DNA

Robin walked into Darcy's bedroom excitedly. He'd just made a discovery he knew she'd love, and he couldn't wait to tell her. "Darcy!" he said, jumping up onto her bed, where she lay reading.

"Uh, hi, Robin." she said, surprised. The Beatles played from an old stereo system in the corner.

"Oh, right. Happy birthday. Anyway, I figured out your problem." he said.

"What problem?" she asked suspiciously.

He took her arm and held it next to his wrist-gadget. "You said you tried to hack your DNA once, right?" he asked.

She nodded slowly. "Please tell me you're not going where I think you're going with this."

"I've been doing the math," he continued, ignoring her. "I think I can help. I mean, I _am_ the best hacker in Mount Justice. I just need to be a lot more careful than usual 'cause, you know, I'm hacking a person."

"Robin, seriously?" she said, sounding nervous. "Do you really think you can do this?"

"Don't you want to be in control?" he asked.

She looked at him, digesting that question. "Do it." she said with finality.

"Okay. We need to go into the workshop. The others are already there." he said, leading her out of the room and through the mountain.

"What are they gonna do?" she asked. "I thought you were the tech expert."

"I am. I'm the one that's doing the actual hacking. But since there's more than just wires and lights with you, Wally offered to stand by for biological purposes. Megan's gonna keep you sedated, too. Kaldur is Kaldur, and he said he wanted to make sure nothing went wrong, being team leader and all. I think Artemis and Conner are mostly there for moral support. It _is_ your birthday." he said.

"Robin, if this works, it'll be the best present ever." she said earnestly as they entered the giant workshop in the middle of the mountain. Along with the other teens, Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter, and Batman were also present.

"Happy birthday, Shadow." said Manhunter, stepping forward and handing her a small, wrapped gift.

"Yes. I am told it is your custom to give gifts on one's date of birth." said Tornado. "So I have procured one for you."

She accepted the hard, perfect cube wrapped in red paper and smiled. She had a feeling it was something electronic. "Thank you. Both of you." she said sincerely. Batman hadn't gotten her anything. She hadn't wanted him to.

"Alright, princess, if your subjects are through grovelling." Wally said sarcastically. "Here's your throne." He gestured to the medical bed that was set up in the midst of various machines and computers. She hesitated, but only for a second before climbing on top of it. "We all have gifts for you, too." he continued, adjusting the lamp above her. "But you'll get those when you wake up."

The lights were making her a bit nervous, but she repressed the feeling. These were her friends. They would never intentionally hurt her. She would be fine. Especially since Manhunter and Red Tornado were there to oversee things. She would be fine.

"Okay, so here's how it's gonna work." said Robin. "Megan will knock you out, then we'll access your electronic cells and from there hook you up to the computers. Then I'll start decoding everything and hopefully rewrite some of it so you can keep yourself in control at all times."

"Rewrite?" she asked carefully.

"Only some of it." said Artemis. "The stuff that isn't bad he'll leave alone. You'll still be you, just less... vicious."

"You're one to talk." Wally snorted, earning a punch on the arm.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked, leaning back and trying her best not to shake with nerves. "Put me under."

"Wait." said Robin as Wally went to turn on one of the machines. "You need to know what the worst case scenario could be."

"I really don't."

"It's required. In case you want to back out. There's still time." he told her.

Darcy sighed. "Fine. Get on with it."

He leaned against the bed, looking at her seriously. "If something goes wrong, you could be completely changed. You might not be the same person you are. I'm not saying it's likely something will go wrong, but in the case that it does, you could very well forget all of us."

"Well, look at it this way." she said quietly. "If this works, I won't."

There was silence for a moment, then Robin nodded. "Start it up." he told Wally. "Megan, if you would."

_You've forgotten before, haven't you?_ came Megan's voice in Darcy's head.

_Once. A long time ago, because they didn't want me to remember. Selina helped me._

_So you do remember._

_No. I just know what happened. Everything is gone._

Megan looked at the girl sadly, then slowly made her go unconscious.

**. . .**

When Darcy woke up, the first thing she felt was lighter. Like a huge weight had been removed from her shoulders. She sat up on the bed and smiled. "It worked!" she said. "I remember all of you!"

"Awesome!" said Wally, high-fiving Robin. "You know, for a minute, we thought we'd done something wrong."

"Obviously not. Look at me! I feel so... _different_!"

"I'm sure. Do you have any idea how much coded material was in there?" Robin asked.

"You did well, though. You were very relaxed." said Megan.

"Well, how's that for a birthday present?" Artemis asked, smiling.

"Best ever!" Darcy said, hopping off the bed.

"And you have Robin to thank." said Wally.

She turned to the other boy. "Right. I guess I need to say thank you, don't I?"

He looked away bashfully. "You don't have to." he said.

She ignored him, instead, taking him by the collar and kissing him full on the lips.

**. . .**

**Everything is not as it seems.**


	19. Realism

Darcy stumbled past Robin's unconscious body. At least, she hoped he was merely unconscious. There were League bodies all over the hallway, and the lights were basically useless. Even the emergency lights had been killed by some unknown force.

Her right hand put pressure on the hole in her stomach, trying to keep the blood from seeping between her fingers. So much pain, but she needed to get to the control room. She leaned against a wall to rest, trying to remember how she'd gotten there in the first place. Everyone around her was either dead or unconscious, and there was no power in the mountain. Something big happened.

Had they wiped her memory again? No, couldn't have. She remembered Robin and Artemis and Captain Marvel. So maybe it was minor amnesia, where she'd only forgotten the last few hours. Well, she was running out of time. With this wound, she had about four hours at best. And the inside of the mountain was getting colder. She needed to start jogging her memory, fast.

**. . .**

Megan gasped, feeling dizzy.

"What's going on?" Conner asked, putting a hand on her. Suddenly, he blinked, as though surprised, and Megan looked at him apologetically.

"Sorry." she said. "I think you accidentally got into the link."

"What was that?" he asked.

"Something's wrong." she said. "I – I don't know what this is."

"You're telling me." said Robin, typing frantically at the computer. "Some security virus just attacked what I was working on."

"Wait, what are you seeing?" Wally asked, looking at her seriously.

Megan closed her eyes. "Us. We're... we're all dead. Or unconscious. The League is all around in the same state. The lights are out, and there are signs of fighting all over. The only one conscious is Darcy, but she's wounded."

"How badly?" Wally asked.

"She's bleeding... Looks like she's been shot or something."

"Makes sense. I was working on the nervous system when the virus broke through." said Robin.

"This is really bad." Wally said tensely. "Her brain thinks she's hurt and doesn't know why, so it's trying to make up a reason."

"But she can't remember." said Megan. "She can't remember how she got hurt, or why everything's like that."

"That's because the virus just took over her memory." said Robin, sounding frustrated. "I have no control over it."

"If I may assume correctly, her brain is now creating a scenario for her to get through?" said Red Tornado.

"I don't know if she can get through it." said Megan. "It's... complicated. It's like it's really happening. Nothing is planned."

"Can you help her?" asked Kaldur.

"I can't talk to her, but... maybe I can try and give her ideas to remember. As it stands, she'll freeze before her wound kills her."

"But she'll just wake up, right?" said Artemis.

"Wrong." said Robin. "I wasn't kidding when I said things could go very badly. If she dies in this dream, her brain will shut down and she'll go into a coma."

"Megan, go in there and see if you can help her." Wally commanded. "I'll hook her up to the heart monitors so we can make sure she doesn't go into cardiac arrest."

"I'll do my best."

**. . .**

Darcy stumbled through the halls of the mountain, unsure even of where she was. Waking up in a random, unfamiliar point had messed with her internal navigation. She saw Canary on the floor, and suddenly, a memory came to her. The only kind scientist she'd ever met. She'd forgotten completely. But how? It had been so strange...

**. . .**

"Okay, Project Fifteen." said Dr. Ramsey, checking her chart. "You're my subject for today."

"Where is Dr. Kardan?" the experiment asked.

"He's working on a different project right now." Ramsey said. "Why don't you sit on the bed, okay? Good. Now, tell me, has anything been bothering you lately?"

"In what way?"

"In any way." she said. "Anything at all?"

Project Fifteen shook her head. "I do not become bothered."

Ramsey nodded, checking off something on her clipboard. "Okay. Now, I'm just going to give you a shot, okay?"

"Are you asking for my permission?" Project 15 asked.

This brought the scientist up short. "Well... I guess... Do I have your permission?"

"What is this?" asked another scientist, a cruel man by the name of Dr. Farnsman. "Are you giving the subject a choice?"

"I did ask." Ramsey pointed out.

"You are too soft with them, Donna, too gentle. They need no such nurturing."

Ramsey narrowed her eyes. "Sorry, _Bert_. Maybe I was under the impression that she was human."

"_It_ is not human. It's purpose will be fulfilled, and it will be terminated. Treating it like an equal will get you nowhere in this facility. Continue your work, but, please, for the sake of research, do not offer it _cookies_." he snorted, leaving the room.

Ramsey, eyes narrowed in disgust, turned to the project who had sat passively on the bed the entire time. "Don't listen to him." Ramsey said. "He's full of hot air."

"And water." Project Fifteen pointed out.

"No, listen to me," the scientist said, taking the project's shoulders. "You are so much more important than they tell you. If nothing else, promise me you'll make them ask permission for things."

"I cannot make them do that." she said monotonously.

"Yes you can." Ramsey said firmly. "You're their finest weapon. They _have_ to respect you, at least a little. Don't let them kick you around. You deserve more than that."


	20. Memory

Darcy pushed off from the wall, feeling shaky. She just needed to keep going a little longer. She saw a puddle of water on the floor and something clicked in her mind. The water. They came through the water...

**. . .**

"Will you knock it off?" Artemis teased. "You're so immature."

"Oh, _I'm_ immature?" Wally snorted. "Okay, Miss I-don't-"

Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the mountain. "What was that?" asked Kaldur, already getting into battle mode.

"They're coming!" Darcy shouted, running at full speed into the room, Robin hot on her heels. "The ocean! They came up out of the ocean!"

"Who?" said Conner.

"We couldn't see. But there were two subs full of 'em, and they just blew a chunk off the mountain." she said. "We need to hurry if we're gonna save HQ."

"Have they actually entered the mountain yet?" Artemis asked.

At once, there was yelling and laughter heard from the floor above. They all stared up at the ceiling, trying, as they'd been trained, to keep their fear at bay. "Everyone, gather any weapons you can carry." said Kaldur. "We've been breached."

Darcy nodded and immediately ran off to her room. She pulled out her stash of various deadly items, which she stored in her pockets for the time being. She made a quick last sweep of her room, then ran out to seek the others. She found Robin first, standing in the training room. "Robin!" she gasped. "Where are the others?"

He turned. Something about him was different, but she figured this was because his home was being attacked. "I don't know. I waited in here for them."

"Why?" she asked. "We have to run!"

"Why?"

"Why?" she spat. "Because we'll_ die_, Robin! Jeez, where's your common sense?"

"Well, my theory is that common sense is so _common_."

She stepped back. As Robin spoke, he was no longer Robin. Instead, his voice deepened and his features elongated until he became the Puppet Master. "So sorry to trick you like this, but this new chemical we've created that changes your appearance is _ever_ so useful!"

"No. No!" she shouted, turning and running from the room, intending on finding the others.

**. . .**

"Ah!" Darcy cried, falling to the floor. Suspicion. That was what kept her alive all this time. Being suspicious of everything and anything. She was suspicious by nature. It was programmed into her DNA.

**. . .**

"Catwoman! Get down!" Darcy cried, hands beginning to glow. "I got this one!"

"Selina..." said the man in a warning tone.

"Whoa, there, Shadow." said Selina, stepping between her and the target. "Relax, it's just Batty."

Darcy straightened up. "Batty?"

"Batman, if you please." he said in a low voice. "And who are _you_?"

He spoke in a way she didn't like, yet she couldn't get enough of it. It was low, deep tones that hinted at a hatred that burned all the time. He cut his words short like staccato notes, so everything he said was important. "Shadow." she answered. "I'm with Catwoman."

"Obviously."

**. . .**

"She just met Batman." said Megan, hands on her temples.

"Why does she keep jumping around?" Conner asked. "I thought she was trying to remember why she was hurt."

"She is." said Wally. "What's all the other stuff?"

"Some of the memories are real, some aren't." Megan said. "The ones that have to do with someone breaking into the mountain obviously aren't real. But the others... I think she's remembering the stuff they made her forget."

"They who?" asked Artemis.

"The scientists. She told me, just before I put her under, that when they were still controlling her, they wiped her memory. Selina had to tell her what had been happening."

"That doesn't explain why she's switching back and forth." said Robin.

"In the scenario, things are triggering her memories." Megan said. "Like the water. That made her remember the invasion. And being suspicious made her remember the time when she was with Catwoman."

"Well, she just needs to hold on a little longer." said Robin. "I've almost killed the virus."


	21. False

"Ughn... no..." Darcy groaned as she fell to the floor. _Just... a little... further..._ The distance could never have been surmised as "a little", but she would tell herself anything just to keep going. The League depended on that.

It wasn't that she wanted to save the League with all her heart. That wasn't it at all. Because, really, what had they ever done for her? She was doing this because it was programmed in her DNA. No matter what, keep the home base alive, and do whatever you had to do to get it done.

So because of the scientists who created her, she crawled forward, her strength waning. She was putting everything into saving the organization, all because of some commands tapped into a big computer.

**. . .**

"Project Fifteen," said the scientist. "This is Agent Anderson. He is your handler, which means you will do as he tells you and not question his authority."

The black-haired girl saluted stiffly. "Yes, sir."

"Hey, Benji, why don't you let us get acquainted with each other?" said the big man, seeming to have taken an interest in the girl.

"Ac-acquainted?" the scientist stuttered. "When you bring a PC home, do you take it out for coffee first? Ha ha, fine, do whatever you want. She's yours now." he said, waving a hand as he left the room.

Anderson turned back to the girl, who had been standing at attention the entire time. "At ease, soldier." he chuckled. She widened her stance, awaiting further orders. He shook his head. "Sit." She looked confused, so he repeated the word, "_Sit_." When she had sat down on her bed, he sat next to her. "Project Fifteen, huh? You got a name?"

Her brow furrowed. "Project Fifteen." she stated.

"No, I mean a real name."

She looked at him. "Agent Anderson, I don't understand the question."

He chuckled. "First of all, call me Belt. Everyone else worth my time does. Second of all, unless you want to be called Project Fifteen all your life, you should pick a name."

She still looked confused. "What else would I be called?"

He shifted on the bed. "Well, there's all kinds of names. Like, Ann, or Bianca, or Natalie... You got a lot of options."

Her face took on a look of concentration as she stared at the opposite wall. He'd just begun to feel uncomfortable when she stirred. "Darcy." she said. Then she turned to him. "Is Darcy a name?"

He shrugged. "Hey, if you like it, I got no issues."

Then, something odd happened. It wasn't odd to the handler, but it was to the project. The corner of her mouth quirked up in her first smile, or something like one. "I have a real name." she said confidently.

He smiled back. "I am definitely going to be a bad influence on you."

**. . .**

"Puppet Master!" Darcy gasped, finding the others in the hangar. "In the training room!"

"How did he get in here?" Robin asked.

"I don't know!" she said. "But he said they have some chemical or something, and they can change into other people! Robin, he was you! And I – I... You are you, aren't you?"

The others stared at her like she was crazy. Robin didn't. "If I wasn't me, then who would I be? You just said Puppet Master's in the training room, so he can't be me."

"There are others. You saw that."

"Darcy," he said calmly, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Do you_ really_ think it's not me?"

She looked at him for a moment. His face. It was completely familiar. Caring, kind, and just a bit mischievous. It was him.

"Robin, we need to get out of here." said Kid Flash, looking around. "What do you suggest?"

"Ask Kaldur." said Robin. "I honestly don't know."

"Take the bio-ship." Aqualad said. "We'll circle the mountain, see if we can find out where and how they entered. Maybe we can find out who it is."

**. . .**

"Well, who is it?" Wally demanded.

"I don't know, they haven't gotten that far." said Megan, eyes tight shut. "Wait, now she's back in the present. _Her_ present, that is. Where it's all dark."

"She still in bad shape?" Robin asked.

"Worse." she answered. "She's weakening, and not just in her dream. I can feel her energy going down."

**. . .**

She couldn't keep this up for long. She could barely see for the darkness, and the loss of blood wasn't helping anything. There, right up ahead. The medical ward. If she could just get there, maybe she could find some bandages and something to keep her going...

**. . .**

"Here," Catwoman whispered, handing Shadow a small, circular pad.

"What is this?" the girl asked, looking at it curiously. She winced as a flicker of pain passed through her.

"Your DNA is malfunctioning. This will help stabilize it." said her mentor, taking several more of the circular pads out of the drawer. "Come on. Before someone sees us."

Shadow pulled at her costume and put the pad on her exposed neck. Instantly, she felt better. Not only did she feel less scattered, but she felt energized. "Where can _we_ get some of these?" she asked in wonder.

Catwoman laughed softly. "We can always come back for more. Now let's go. No telling _what_ could be roaming around here at night."

**. . .**

Darcy yanked open drawer after drawer, spilling the contents everywhere and not caring very much. Finally, she found the bandages, and began to wrap them around her middle, taking care not to damage herself further. After doing this, she looked around for anything to help her carry on. There, on the floor by her feet. They were the little round patches designed to make her DNA work like it should. Maybe it would heal her, maybe it wouldn't. At any rate, she would feel better and less weak.

**. . .**

"There." said Shadow, pointing at a large hole in the mountain. "They must have used explosives."

"Should we go in?" Miss Martian asked, looking at the others for direction.

"Yes." said Aqualad. "Maybe we can see our attackers for who they really are."

She nodded grimly, then angled the ship towards the hole. They landed inside the mountain, being extra quiet as they exited the cloaked bio-ship. "It's too quiet." Wally whispered.

This was answered by the sound of firearms being unloaded dangerously close to the team. "Loud enough for you?" Shadow yelled from where she and Robin were, behind some rubble across the room.

"It was an observation, not an invitation!" he yelled back.

"Stop!" called a voice. Shadow froze, her blood turning to ice in her veins. That voice was all too familiar. "_I_ want the pleasure of harming the little cuties."

"Joker." Robin hissed, clenching his hand. "How did he find us?"

"Kaldur said there could be a mole, right?" she whispered shakily.

"Come out, little kiddies, I know you're there!" Joker called in his horrible, creepy voice.

_Go away,_ Shadow said with her mind.

There was silence. Then, "Ah, so she has little tricks, eh? Well, I have some, too!"

Without warning, something small exploded near where Shadow and Robin were. Before she could react, he shoved her to the ground, covering both their faces with his cape. "Laughing gas!" he shouted so the others could hear. "Get down!"

"Come out, if you don't want to laugh to death!" Joker cackled.

"Fine," Shadow snarled. "If he wants us to come out, we'll come out."

Then, she was gone. Invisible. She sneaked through the cloud of gas, holding her breath. Just as she was about to shoot light at the laughing man, Kid Flash sped in and hit Joker.

"Wally!" Shadow cried, hurriedly absorbing the light before it hit him.

He turned to see who had called him, but was caught off-guard by a henchman. "Attack! Attack them all!" Joker shouted.

Then, everyone was involved in the fight.


	22. Joking

"How have you survived so long?" Project 15 asked her handler.

"What do you mean?" asked Belt.

"Well, people are always telling me the world is dangerous and that it has no place for someone like me. And, I figured if it's not a safe place for a weapon, then it can't be safe for a good guy like you." she reasoned.

The agent looked a little taken aback. "Who's been calling you a weapon?" he asked.

She shrugged as she pulled herself up to sit on the lab table. "All the scientists do. They say I'm the greatest hope to humanity at this point."

Belt leaned against the table beside her. "Darcy... I'm not a weapon, and you don't need to be to get by in this world. There are so many people out there who can live easy as pie every single day. All you gotta know is to keep your mind sharp, keep your head level, and keep your nose outta other people's business. As for there being no place for you, I'm gonna set that straight right now."

**. . .**

The fight could have gone on all day, were it not for the single shot caused by Joker's itching finger. He had tired of nothing going his way, so he figured he might as well take matters into his own hands.

Shadow stumbled back. Somehow, even in her invisible form, he'd managed to hit her. She was no longer invisible, though, and everyone watched as she fell to the ground, clutching her stomach.

"Darcy! No!" Robin yelled.

"You're gonna die, Joker!" Artemis yelled, already knocking another arrow.

The rest were yelling, too, but it sounded far away to Shadow's ears. Everything seemed blurry and in slow motion. Like it wasn't real. Before long, nothing was there at all.

**. . .**

"That's it." said Artemis, shaking her head. "It was Joker the whole time. That stupid-"

"We must remember none of this has actually transpired." said Kaldur calmly. "I know it seems real, but it is only a story to us."

Megan shook her head, eyes still closed. "It's weird..." she said. "Her memories... I used to be able to pick out which ones were real and which ones were fake, but that last one was way realistic."

"NO!" Robin yelled, punching the control panel. "I just lost it!"

"Lost what?" asked Conner.

"Everything! I have to get it back online!"

"Hurry." said Megan. "She's back in the present."

**. . .**

Darcy stumbled along, clinging to the wall for support. Almost to the control room. But, once she got there, would the door be unlocked? Joker was probably in there trashing the place.

No, not trashing the place. That wasn't his style. While not a creature of order, he managed to break into the mountain, and so needed to be in the control room for a specific reason. Well, then, it was time to go crash his party.

Just outside the door, her foot hit something small and it went skidding across the floor. She looked down and saw a little white object sitting amid the debris. "Communicator." she muttered, falling to her knees. Maybe she could call for help.

She reached for it, but just before her fingers touched it, the door opened and a booted foot crushed the device. "Oh, I'm sorry." An unwanted face appeared level with her own. "Did you need that?"

"Look, I'm already wounded and dying." she said weakly. "What more do you want?"

He merely smirked as he straightened to his full height. "Take her with us. She could be useful."

Her hand began to glow as a henchman bent to pick her up. "I dare you." she said lowly.

Joker gave a half shrug. "Fine. We can leave you here to die, I really don't care either way. I've done what I came here for. Come; We should leave this daycare center."

"I thought you were gonna take the base." Darcy said, voice getting more slurred the weaker she became.

"Take the base? Why would I do a thing like that?" he asked. "With only a handful of men to run the place? Here's a quick answer: uh, _no_. See, what I've done just now is way easier."

"What did you do, Joker?" she growled.

"Just a bit of re-modification." he said, turning away. "Oh, yes, and I must thank you for letting Puppet Master in. He was most essential for this to work."

She was left, curled up on the floor, as Joker and his men walked out of the building with no one to stop them.

**. . .**

**So, I realize this story is really long already, but I seriously have about ten more chapters I've already written up. I hope the length doesn't scare anyone away. Just think of this as being over the course of several episodes. Maybe even an entire season.**

**Actually... Is anybody still reading this?**


	23. Heart

It could have been hours or days later, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that she was cold and the DNA patch had worn off. She also knew that, unless she could turn the power back on, everyone in the mountain would slowly freeze to death. She didn't know why no one was awake. Maybe Joker hit them with some magic toxin.

_Save the team, die later_.

Her programming was talking now. Her electronic DNA. And she had no choice but to obey.

The first step to saving Mount Justice was getting up off the floor. But her joints were stiff from loss of blood and cold, so moving was difficult. Okay, then, the new first step was to get warm.

"Come on, come on," she begged, willing her hands to light. "Just a little bit of heat." Slowly and painfully, she slipped the extra patch she'd picked up out of her pocket and placed it on her arm. She didn't feel energized, she was too far gone for that. But there was a tiny current that ran through her, so that when she tried to use her powers, it worked.

The heat from her hands immediately began to warm her, getting what little blood that was left flowing. Again, with much pain and slowness, she uncurled herself and got off the floor, clinging to the wall. "Now, Joker... Let's see what you did." she muttered, stumbling into the control room. Almost every screen was off, and the ones that weren't were cracked and showing static. Even though she hated the man, she couldn't help but wish Batman were there to yell at her a little.

Instead, she collapsed in the first chair she came to and and looked around. Finding the central power button, she hit it, but nothing happened. "Great." she muttered, starting up the computer in front of her. The first thing that came on was a warning message, and the speakers blared out, "WARNING: SYSTEM COMPROMISED! FIVE MINUTES UNTIL EMERGENCY DETONATION!"

"You have got to be kidding me." she groaned.

**. . .**

"We're gonna blow up?" Wally exclaimed.

"Do we even _have_ an emergency detonation system?" Artemis asked.

"No." said Robin. "And I _still_ can't get this thing back online."

"Dude! How?" asked Wally. "You're, like, master computer man!"

"I'm sorry. The best we can hope for now is that she snaps out of this soon." said Robin. "I don't know what happened. But everything's gone."

**. . .**

"Pressure, Shadow! Pressure!" Catwoman cried, urging her protege on.

"But – but what if I can't-"

"Focus! What have I been telling you?" Catwoman snapped. "Assess the situation! What do you know?"

The girl closed her eyes. "I know the store owner locks his things in the back room."

"Keep going."

"I know robbers would look in the cash register first."

"Uh huh."

"But we're not there to steal money, so we don't go into the back room. There's probably some expensive lock on there, anyway."

"Right. So, your original plan..."

"Is trash. We go through the front door."

**. . .**

Darcy had five minutes to figure out what was wrong with the computer and fix it. With a bullet hole in her stomach. And no idea what Joker had done to it. "Awesome," she muttered, looking around. She thought back to what he'd said to her. Something about Puppet Master being essential to the operation. What had he done besides distract her? He didn't even do that very well.

She closed her eyes tightly and thought back to what Selina had taught her. Under pressure, focus was your best bet. Focus, and you could do anything. Focus...

"WARNING: SYSTEM COMPROMISED! TWO MINUTES AND THIRTY-FOUR SECONDS UNTIL EMERGENCY DETONATION!"

"You friggin liar." she argued, not believing half her time had already passed. There was no sign of what Puppet Master had done to the computer. But, wait... His theme, puppets, resulted around control, right? So maybe he'd entered a virus into the computer, which then made it revert to emergency detonation. She immediately turned on a secondary computer and began trying to access anything that could lead her to the virus.

"WARNING: SYSTEM COMPROMISED! ONE MINUTE UNTIL EMERGENCY DETONATION!"

"Yes, thank you." she said bitterly, typing madly. Robin was so good at this. He probably would have found the virus by now. She was decent with technology, but when it came to this kind of thing...

Wait. There. Amid the codes and things for files, one looked out of place. There were too few numbers, and the combination was wrong for where it was located. Immediately, Darcy began applying all the hacking skills Robin had tried to teach her, and some of her own.

"FIFTEEN... FOURTEEN... THIRTEEN..."

"Got it!" she exclaimed. There. Now the power would come back on, and-

"TEN... NINE... EIGHT..."

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" she said as the computer shut itself down. What if the virus was protected? Then the computer would have to be purged of all the malicious data. Oh, how she wished Robin were there! But, since he wasn't, and she only had a few seconds left, she would have to try to break into to the technology like he did.

But, on the other hand, she was _part_ technology, right? Maybe, if she focused enough, she could sort of talk to the computers and take out the virus that way. She placed her hand on the control panel and closed her eyes.

"FIVE... FOUR..."

"Come, on, come on," she breathed, feeling her strength fading. She put everything she had left into the computer, concentrating on pushing out the virus. Something clicked inside her, and bright blue threads began weaving themselves around in her mind. Some of the lines were red, and she concentrated harder than she ever had on expelling the red lines. With one, almighty shove, she dispersed the red.

"TWO... ONE..."

The lights vanished, and darkness overcame her.

**. . .**

Darcy could hear voices. They were all over, some laughing quietly, others speaking in serious tones. She cracked her eyes open and looked around, seeing Black Canary, Conner, Robin, Wally, and the rest of the team standing at various distances around her bed.

"Hey, look. Sleeping Beauty's awake." said Wally, directing everyone's attention to the girl on the bed.

"Oh, good." said Canary, looking relieved. "I thought we'd lost you."

"We nearly did." said Kaldur. "You had us worried."

"Scared the heck out of us, is what he means to say." said Wally. "We were trying to help your DNA problem and suddenly you slipped into a coma! I mean-

"Maybe later." said Canary in a warning tone. "She needs rest."

"But it was so awesome." Darcy said blearily. "The computer was yelling at me, and there was this countdown..."

Robin looked at his friend with a grin. "Hey, Canary, just how much of those drugs did you give her?"

"I don't do drugs." Darcy informed him.

Robin and Wally chuckled, and she couldn't see why that was funny. "What?"

"Alright, stop confusing her." said Canary. "You should sleep now, okay, Darcy? You've been through a lot."

She nodded, leaning back and closing her eyes. "Okay..." She was quiet for a moment, then her eyes fluttered open again. "You... You'll still be here when I wake up, right?" she asked, tears filling her eyes as she thought of what it might be like if she woke up alone again.

Kaldur stood beside her bed and took her small hand in his large one. "We'll be right here waiting for you to get up."

She nodded again, feeling utterly safe like she hadn't in a while, and drifted off to sleep.

**. . .**

"As for there being no place for you, I'm gonna set that straight right now." said Belt determinedly. "These wackos who call themselves 'scientists' don't know what they've got here. They only said you don't belong because they made you as a weapon. But you're a heck of a lot more than a weapon. You just ain't realized it yet. You've got somethin' no gun or hammer can have."

"What?" asked Project 15, who had been listening with great interest.

He poked her in the chest with a big finger. "You got heart. It can be stolen, it can be broken, heck, it can even get hacked sometimes. But it can never be replaced. I'm tellin' you, Darcy, there's gonna be one day when you come to find that you are worth so much more than what these guys see, and you're gonna know you're loved like a person, not like a gun. And I'm gonna be right next to you, sayin' 'I told ya so' 'cause I been sayin' it all along. You're a special thing, Darcy. Don't let nobody tell you differently."

The girl gave a miniscule grin. "I already know I'm special. I'm the greatest hope for the human race."

Belt shook his head. "You know what I mean. And, who knows?" he said, leaning back on the table. "Maybe the way they programmed you will make you even more human. Maybe someday you're gonna find a home, with people who love you like a person, and you're gonna use your programming to keep them around, no matter what. Yeah... I'd like to see that... The greatest weapon ever created protecting her family."

**. . .**

**Yay! Darcy, you're so cute when you're with Belt! I just had to have that fluff in there. The last part was written to the song Beloved by Yiruma.**

**Also, for anyone who's seen Firefly, this was based off of the episode called "Out of Gas". One of my favorites. I had originally written most of this for another character, Fly, who can be found on (username, InsideRainyDay), so there was a lot of change-up and copy-pasting going on. Okay, done talking now.**


	24. Birthday

Robin poked his head into the medical ward, where Darcy lay on one of the beds, reading a book and music playing from a nearby radio. "Knock knock."

"Who's there?" she asked without looking up.

"Boy Wonder."

"Boy Wonder who?"

He decided to continue playing along. "Boy wonder if girl is mad at him."

She finally looked up from her book and smiled. "Why would I be mad at you?" she asked. "It wasn't your fault."

"I _did_ promise, though." he said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Not true. You never actually said the words 'I promise'." she pointed out.

"Still..." He shifted a little on the bed. "I just have one question."

"That's a lie. You probably had hundreds, from what Megan tells me happened outside my mind." said Darcy with a grin.

"Well, yeah, but there's one that's _really_ been aggravating me." he said. "If Belt is a mutant, too, then why was he allowed to work for the Lab?"

She gave him a quizzical look. "Why do you think he's a mutant?"

"Well, because..." Robin trailed off, realizing he'd jumped to conclusions. "He lives in the warehouse."

"He takes care of the others." she said. "After Selina helped me escape, he left the Lab and searched for any other runaway mutants or projects. He'd never sided with the Lab in the first place."

"_Now_ it makes sense." he said, and she laughed. He smiled, then glanced at her bedside table. "Get any good presents for your birthday?"

She snorted. "That box from Tornado? No idea what it does. As of right now, it is a very fancy paperweight. And you know what Wally got me?"

"Something Wally-ish, I hope."

She reached down and pulled out a brightly-colored plastic gun from beside her bed. "It shoots foam darts." she said. "He has the other one."

"Why am I not surprised?"

She grinned, then began to list off everything else. "Artemis got me a sweet pair of boots, Megan got me a necklace, Kaldur gave me a small rock fountain, Conner... well, Conner gave me this." She reached over and picked up a box that was sitting on her bedside table. "Go on, open it." she said, handing it to Robin.

He pulled the top off and raised an eyebrow. "A... dress?"

Dracy nodded, trying her hardest not to burst out laughing. "He asked Megan what girls liked. She mentioned clothes."

He shook his head. "No way. I can't see him shopping for women's clothing."

"I can't either, which is why it's hilarious. I use the thought to amuse myself when I get bored." she informed him.

He handed back the box. "Well, now all you need is a gift from me."

Her smile faded. "But... I though-"

"I figured I needed to make up for the disastrous outcome." he interrupted. "Just take the gift."

She took the long box he handed her curiously. It had only a single red ribbon wrapped around one end, which was easily removed. Unsure of what she would find, she pulled the top off and pushed back the tissue paper.

She blinked, unable to keep the smile from spreading across her face. "Robin... You got me a sword."

"Yes."

"What possessed you to do so?"

He shrugged. "I just remembered the time we were watching _The Mask of Zorro_ and you mentioned that swords were hot, so..."

She burst out laughing. "Robin, you're too cute!" she exclaimed, spreading her arms so he could lean forward for a hug. "I know _exactly_ where I'm going to put this."

**End Part Four**

**. . .**

**Aww! More cute-n-fluffy! Also, I am _determined_ to make the next few chapters as light and fluffy as possible, because everything is waaaay too dark at the moment. These people need to be happy, dammit! It's also because I feel like Darcy is coming off as either bipolar or mentally traumatized, and while she may be a bit on the introspective side, she's actually quite fun. So, next topic:**

**Christmas!**


	25. Christmas

"What are you doing?"

Robin and Wally looked up from their task to see Darcy, Kaldur, Conner, and Megan staring at them oddly. "We're putting up the Christmas tree." said Wally. "Duh."

"Why?"

The speedster stared dumbstruck at Darcy. "Uh, because it's _December_! You know, the month _Christmas_ is in?"

"Isn't Christmas that holiday which celebrates the greed in everyone?" asked Megan.

Robin, Wally, and even Darcy winced on that one. "Uh, Megan," said Robin carefully. "It's not about greed. It's about giving to each other. You know, happiness and stuff."

"Are you kidding me?" exclaimed Wally. "You're telling me you guys don't know what Christmas is?"

"I know of the holiday." said Kaldur. "But we did not celebrate it Atlantis."

"I haven't been alive that long." said Conner simply.

They all looked at Darcy, who _had_ been around long enough. She shrugged. "I didn't even know what Christmas was until I escaped from the Lab, and even then, Selina wasn't big on the holiday cheer. I mean, we went to a couple parties where she dressed up as Mrs. Clause..."

"Mrs. Clause?" asked Robin skeptically.

She winked at him. "Well, more like _Little Miss_, if you know what I mean."

"But, this is terrible!" said Wally. "None of you have ever celebrated Christmas?" There was a group shake of the head, after which Wally clapped a hand to his forehead. "Fine! Then this Christmas is gonna be awesome! Come on, Rob!" He stood and headed out of the main room.

"I thought he was decorating the tree." said Conner questioningly.

"He was." Robin sighed, getting off the floor. "You guys can finish if you want. I mean, this _is_ technically your first Christmas."

He left the room, leaving the four to stand there staring at the tree, unsure what to do.

"What's going on?" asked Artemis, sipping a juice box as she entered the room.

"We're not quite sure." said Kaldur. "Robin told us to finish decorating the tree."

She snorted. "Let me guess: None of you have ever decorated one before, right?"

"How did you know?" asked Megan.

"It makes sense." She stepped forward and opened a fresh box of ornaments. "Here, it's not that hard. You just take one of these," She picked up a sparkling red bauble. "And you hook it on one of the tree branches."

"That was what I was just about to do." said Darcy, nodding stiffly. "You just beat me to it."

Artemis laughed. "Come on. Let's finish decorating this thing."

"Recognize, Zatanna, A zero three!"

"Hey, guys!" said the dark-haired girl, entering the mountain headquarters. "What's happening?"

Darcy quickly looked down at the ornament in her hand. Last time she'd seen Zatanna, the girl had been flirting up a storm with Robin. And she was really good, too. Like she'd had lessons directly from Catwoman. It had kind of hurt, watching that, and Darcy had been more than a little grateful when Zatara had forbidden her from joining the team.

"We're getting ready for Christmas." said Artemis, who had become fast friends with the girl magician.

"Oh, I love Christmas!" she said happily. "Do you need help?"

"Well, I think we have too many people on the tree already." said Darcy, putting an honest effort into keeping dislike from her voice. She didn't hate Zatanna. Not really. She just... didn't like who _she_ liked.

"That's okay. I can make Christmas cookies!" she said happily.

"I can help!" Megan volunteered. "Darcy's right. There's too many over here, anyway."

"Conner, would you pass me that red ornament?" Kaldur asked. "I wonder why we do not celebrate Christmas in Atlantis. This is quite enjoyable."

"How are we getting the star up there?" Artemis asked. "The boys got a really tall tree."

Darcy grinned. "I could do it, but I think we'll let Conner do the honors."

The clone shook his head. "No. I don't want to knock it over." he said in his quiet way.

"You sure?"

He nodded.

"Okay." She shrugged and picked up the golden tree-topper. With the agility of a cat (one wonders where _that_ came from), she found a handhold in the wall and climbed up until she was level with the top of the tree. "Catch me if I fall." she told them.

"I thought you never fell." Artemis said.

"Funny. Just don't let me fall, okay?" She leaned forward and placed the shining star atop the tree. "There." she said. "That's better."

_Crash!_

The loud noise emanating from the kitchen was enough to startle Darcy into overbalancing. She waved her arms around, though this helped nothing, and she tumbled off the handhold directly into the arms of Robin.

"Oof!"

He cocked an eyebrow at her from behind his shades. "Don't cats always land on their feet?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Ha ha. You're hilarious."

"Omigosh! Darcy, are you okay?" asked a panicked Megan, floating into the room.

"I'm fine." she said as Robin set her back down. "What happened?"

"Wally happened." said Zatanna, walking into the room and covered in flour. The speedster followed behind her, looking sheepish and also covered in flower. 

"Misjudged the distance between me and the bowl." he said apologetically.

"But the tree looks amazing!" said Megan. "It's so sparkly!"

"It's not plugged in yet." said Robin, going behind the tree. Suddenly, the entire thing was full of bright, blazing colors, lighting up the room. They all made noises of appreciation and excitement.

"Pretty." Darcy commented.

"And that," said Wally proudly, putting his arms on Megan's and Darcy's shoulders. "Is how you decorate a Christmas tree."

**. . .**

**Okay, so maybe this won't be _all_ fun and games, but how interesting would that be if there weren't any issues? So, here's Christmas with the YJ team.**


	26. Ladder

Darcy wrapped her sweatshirt tighter around her body as she looked up at the side of the mountain. "What are you doing _now_?"

"Putting up Christmas lights." Robin told her.

"On a mountain?"

"Why not?"

She shook her head. "Do you want me to hold the ladder for you?"

"Nah. I'm getting down anyway." he said. He turned his upper body, then lithely jumped away from the steel contraption. He stood, surveying his work. "I'm gonna move over, of course." he said, implying he knew she was thinking about how only half the lights were up.

"I brought you some hot chocolate." she said, handing him a mug.

"Thanks." he said, accepting the gift.

"Zatanna made an entire pot." she told him. "I can't get enough of the stuff."

"She's good like that." he said. "Dunno where she learned it all."

Darcy kept the grin on her face even as a small kernel of jealousy settled in her stomach. She supposed if she actually tried, she could make a pot of hot chocolate. It would probably be just as good.

"Okay, now I need to move the ladder." said Robin, tearing her from her thoughts.

"Need any help?" she teased.

"I think I can handle it." he said, grinning as he walked over to the ladder. It was one of those where one could slide the top half up and down depending on how tall they needed it to be. He gripped the sides and lifted, beginning to move it over. Suddenly, Darcy saw what was about to happen a second too late.

"Robin!"

_Crash!_

The moving section of the ladder came crashing down, right on Robin's exposed arm. He stumbled back as the ladder hit the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." he said, sounding like he was in pain as he held his arm. "Totally fine."

She ran up to him and looked at his arm. "Are you kidding me? This is gonna need stitches at least."

"Nope. Just a band-aid." he forced out.

She shook her head and began pulling him back into the mountain. "Come on. We're taking you to the medical ward."

"What, you gonna have Tornado stitch me up?" he said, desperately trying to make jokes as though he wasn't hurt.

"No, I am." she said. "Who else do you see in this base who can operate on a wound."

"Honestly, I didn't know you could."

"Rob!" said Wally, spotting them as they walked through the T.V. room. "Didya get the lights up?"

"Later, Wally." said Darcy.

"What do you mean, lat-" He caught sight of Robin's arm and his eyes grew huge. "What the heck happened?"

"You're ladder's cursed." she said casually. "I suggest you get Megan to put up the rest of the lights."

Robin didn't even argue. He was trying not to pass out from the adrenaline rush leaving him. All that training with Batman, and he still hadn't mastered the art of being unaffected by pain. He'd never show it, of course. Batman would never respect that.

"Okay, losing consciousness..." Darcy noted, seeing Robin waver as they walked. "Great."

"I'm fine."

"Stop saying that."

"Why? It's true."

"No. You're not fine, but you're not bad, either. You're in that weird place between fine and bad." she told him. "Here. Sit." she commanded, pointing at the bed when they reached the hospital ward. He sat and waited as she gathered medical supplies.

After sterilizing the needle and thread, she held it up and looked at him. "Now, would you like to be numbed, or do you want to do this the old fashioned way?"

He looked at the pointy needle, then at his bleeding arm, and thought, _What the heck. One time won't hurt_. "Numb me."

She nodded and injected his arm with the solution, then she put a bandage on the wound.

"Aren't you gonna stitch it up?" he asked as the pain started going away.

"This stuff takes a few moments to work, and I don't want you to bleed out." she told him.

"How do you know all this stuff?" he asked.

"Several reasons." she said, beginning to prepare her piece of thread. "I mean, I _lived _in a place where everyone had medical degrees. Plus, when I was with Selina, it was all part of training. We couldn't just walk into a hospital if we got hurt."

"Don't you have secret identities?"

"Better to be safe than sorry. Okay, I think we can start now." she said, removing the temporary bandages and beginning to create stitches across the wound. "Wow... Batman's protege; fought a ladder and _lost_." she teased.

"Not fair. I wasn't properly challenged!" he argued.

"Tell that to the ladder." she sorted. "Almost done."

"Good. This feels really weird." he told her.

Suddenly, an odd feeling came over Darcy. It was liken to that of being watched, except now she was in that very rare situation where she knew exactly who was watching her. She looked towards the door and saw Batman standing still as a statue in the doorway.

"What are you doing?" he asked without emotion. He said things differently than most people. Like, when he asked a question, his voice didn't go up at the end. It was like he was always making a statement.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she responded coolly.

"I wasn't asking you."

Robin felt he was the one who needed to save the situation. "I'm getting stitches."

"Why?"

He didn't want to admit that. But Batman would know if he was lying. "I-"

"Saved the day." Darcy interrupted. "Wally decided he was prepared to build a robot, but the thing went nuts and Robin was the one to bring it down." She looked up at the Dark Knight. "It was only an itty bitty thing, yet it caused so much trouble."

He looked from her to his protege, then, miraculously, accepted the answer and walked away. Darcy turned and winked at her patient. "I think that's it. You're all set." she told him.

He looked at her. "You just lied to Batman."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

He shook his head in an almost amused way. "You learned some pretty unconventional stuff with Selina, didn't you?"

"Compared to Batman? Yeah, you're probably right." she said. "Do you want to sleep now, or go see if Megan's putting up the rest of the lights?"

"I think we can go outside." he said. "It's not like this was a near-death experience."

"Right you are. Out we go!"

**. . .**

**This chapter was originally never in my plan for this part of the story. But we were putting up Christmas lights one day and, no lie, this totally happened to my dad. So I figured it would make a fun chapter. I can also imagine Batman leaving the mountain and, as he passes Wally, saying something along the lines of, "Don't make any more robots." Then Wally would get that adorable confused look and it would be hilarious.**

**But don't mind me.**


	27. Superboy

Robin, Wally, and Megan had gone out in search of more Christmas décor, as Mount Justice was huge and required a lot of that sort of thing. So, to amuse herself, Darcy decided to watch some T.V. However, when she entered the room, she found someone had beaten her to the idea. Leaning against the door frame, she smiled slightly, looking almost like an exact replica of Selina Kyle. "Static. Haven't seen that in a while. Is it on for a new season?"

Conner looked over at her, no longer staring at the blizzard that was the television. His wolf, Wolf, was curled up next to him on the couch. "What?"

"What's with the choice of entertainment?" she clarified, pushing off from the wall and walking over.

He looked back at the T.V., then shrugged.

Seated beside him on the couch, she studied him for a moment the way she'd been trained. This wasn't always used to find someone's weakness or their style of fighting. Or, at least, that was how it had been back in the day. Sometimes it was used for more subtle reasons, such as finding out what a person wanted most, or what they were thinking. It didn't take her long to figure this out from Conner.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"

He looked down at his knees. "Is there something wrong with that?"

She leaned back and crossed her legs, shaking her head. "Nope."

"So why do you bring it up?"

"Because it's obvious." she told him. Then, she softened a bit. "Look... you shouldn't take it so hard."

"Take what so hard?"

"You know what I'm talking about." she sighed. "Think about it. Superman, while being your genetic donor or whatever, is the _only_ one in the League to ignore you. That means you have fifty other people willing to make your life better. Why focus on him?"

Conner shook his head. "_Why_ does he ignore me? What did I do to him?"

"You don't _have_ to do anything. He's Superman. He does what he wants." she said in a tone that was more than a little bitter.

"I just want to know what I have to do to make him pay attention." he told her, making fists.

She sighed again. "Look, I don't know why I got into this. I'm the wrong person to talk to. I won't make it a secret; I don't like Superman. Never really have. He just seemed _too_ good, y'know? And then this whole soap opera with you happened, and I like him even less. In my opinion, he seriously needs to get his priorities straight."

"I thought you hated Batman."

"Oh, don't even get me _started_ on him!" she groaned. "It's not even that I hate him as completely as Superman. He's not some Boy Scout hero who saves the day and gets the girl. He gets the job done and doesn't care who gets hurt. He's like a male version of Catwoman. But, see, the thing is, he gets so worked up over whatever _I'm_ doing he fails to see _why_ I'm doing it, so he makes up his own – Okay, now we're off track." she interrupted herself. "We were talking about _you_ and your Superman problem."

He regarded her for a moment. "They sound similar."

She thought this over for a moment, then was faced with the undeniable fact that it was true. She was created in a lab, he was created in a lab, they were both disliked by two of the most famous members of the JLA, both had mentors who didn't want them. Yet, while their situations were similar, it was also opposite. Taking Darcy's own example of her relationship with Batman, one could say he watched her like a hawk would his prey. But Superman wanted nothing to do with Conner. Maybe, in another life, Darcy would have been Batman's protege had things turned out differently. Conner, however, didn't seem to have one of those fantasies.

"You know... I actually think you're better off." she said after a while, causing the clone to look at her in surprise. "I mean, at least you know where you stand. Superman hates you. That's that. But Selina... She rescued me, and I didn't know why, then she left me on the streets, and I can't explain that, either. Then she came back and saved my life. I mean, what am I supposed to think?"

"If you know this is about me, why do you keep making it about you?"

She turned a light shade of red. "Right. Sorry. You should go on a long rant to prove a point."

She allowed him a few moments of silence so he could get his thoughts together. On downtime, he was methodical like that. He would think things through, calculate every option and outcome, then choose the most logical path. It was kinda cool, since Darcy wasn't like that. She was more, pick the most fun option and roll with it. But, to each his own, she supposed.

"I still want Superman to... respect me." he finally said. "I mean, if he liked me at all, that would be good, but that he doesn't think I'm worth his time is hard. And it's not because I need him as a parent. I _need_ a mentor, a mentor like me. I can't control my strength nearly as well as I'd like, and there's really no one else who can help me. No one else has his strength."

"Captain Marvel does."

"It's not the same." he sighed.

She thought for a moment. "Well... I mean, if you want help in knowing when to pull back on your strength, you could spar with me." she offered.

He looked at her. "What?"

"I mean, look at me." she said, sitting up. "I'm a toothpick. To you, I'm probably the most breakable thing in this mountain short of the dishes."

"Then why should I spar with you?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Because then you'll know how much to pull back."

"But it's a learning process." he reasoned. "I can't just instantly pull back enough to not hurt you. In fact, you would most likely get injured a lot if we did that."

"Oh." she said. "It was just a thought."

He nodded. "Thank you, though." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "You seem to like putting yourself in danger."

"Well, after making a career of it, everything else just seems boring, doesn't it?" she asked with a smirk.


	28. Soldier Boy

Darcy sped through Happy Harbor on her street bike, looking for the nearest department store for lights to put in her room. She loved the colorful glow from them, and decided she herself should have some. Also, her trip had more than a little to do with the fact that Zatanna and Robin had started a game of Scrabble in the common room. As she was passing a diner, however, she pulled up. She shook her head, smiling to herself as she recognized the lone man eating a slice of pie. She pulled off her helmet, parked the bike, and entered, seating herself at his table without bothering to ask. "Clark."

He looked up, surprised. "Uh... do I know you?" he asked.

"Oh, please, don't give me that act." she said casually, pulling her biker gloves off. "You didn't really think Catwoman's protege would be unaware of your secret identity, did you?"

He set down his fork, expression changing to annoyed resignation. "How did you find out?"

"Does it matter?" she asked. "Look, I wasn't expecting to run into you, but now that I have, I've decided you need to hear something."

"You're a teenager. You can't just decide when you're going to invade someone's life." he said irritatedly.

She smiled sardonically. "Now you're starting to sound like Batman. You guys are two peas in a pod."

"Besides," he said, ignoring her comment. "I thought you didn't like me."

"This has nothing to do with me liking you." she informed him. "This has to do with your boy. You know, the one you keep rejecting?" He shifted uncomfortably. "Why do you do that, anyway? It's obvious all he wants to do is please you. What did he ever do to you?"

"Nothing... yet." he said lowly, not looking at her.

She stared at him, leaning back in her chair as she put it all together. "Oh." she said quietly. "I get it. This is my fault, isn't it?"

"How could it be your fault? Superboy was part of the Young Justice team long before you were." he said dismissively.

"Right. But I was around long before him." she countered. "This is because of me almost destroying the League, isn't it? You're all prejudiced against experiments now because of me."

"That's not true-"

"Of course it is." she spat. "Well, if that's the case, then this is an easy fix. There are several reasons why he'd never destroy the League. First of all, he wasn't programmed, he was _taught_. There's nothing _making_ him do anything. Second of all, his powers aren't _nearly_ strong enough to take you down (thought they _would_ be if _someone_ would help train him). Lastly... He just wants to be like you." she said pointedly. "He wants to be a hero, not a villain."

Clark Kent looked at her, narrowing his eyes. "Does that imply you wanted to be a villain?"

"I'm done." she said, throwing up her hands and leaving the table. "If you wanna be all dead-beat dad about this, fine. But don't do it in front of Superboy, he doesn't deserve that. And I never liked you, anyway." She stalked from the diner, shaking her head in annoyance. Superman should be proud someone looked up to him as much as Conner. Why he insisted on rejecting the kid, she would never know.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind as she got back on her bike. Why was Superman in Happy Harbor? Didn't he have some hot piece of journalist to save? Why was he so far from home?

"Weirder and weirder." she decided, speeding too fast down the road and not much caring. She made it to a Wall-To-Wal-Mart and entered, looking for the Christmas section. It wasn't hard to find, as it took up about half the store. The issue was deciding which lights to get. There were blue ones, green ones, white ones, red ones, LEDs, regular, globes, icicle, small, large, and any number of combinations thereafter. She was just about to settle on a box of blue icicle lights when she heard a familiar voice down the isle.

"You're sure you don't have any?"

"I can check the back." said a store employee. "Maybe we have some left, of you could wait here."

"That's fine."

Shadow leaned against the shelves waiting for him to notice her. He turned to browse around when his eyes fell on her and lit up. "Well, if it isn't the Shadow Cat."

"Lieutenant Sarcastic." she said, saluting cheekily. "Where's Captain Obvious?"

"You still call us that?" he asked with a smile. He wore a gray t-shirt, camouflage cargo pants, combat boots, and a set of dog tags. Just like when she'd last seen him.

"Well, between your witty remarks and his love of the not-so-subtle, I thought it was a good set." she told him. "So where is he?"

"Not sure. Probably running around with the Cat lady, seeing as you're here." he said.

"If Catwoman was here, I'd be shocked." she informed him. "She hasn't been here in weeks."

He blinked in surprise. "Really? But I thought-"

"I left." she interrupted. "A while ago. Bats kicked us out of Gotham."

He looked at her curiously. "So you came to Happy Harbor?"

She shrugged. "Why not? Seemed like a good retirement plan."

He laughed. "I can't see _you_ retiring, Shadow."

"And I can't see _you_ shopping for Christmas decorations, Soldier Boy."

He laughed again. "I think we should go grab a bite to eat. For old time's sake."

"Just let me pay for these and we'll be on our way."

He shook his head in amusement. "Never thought I'd see the day when you'd actually pay for something."

**. . .**

**Wall-To-Wal-Mart is actually from Fairly Odd Parents, not my own vast imagination. In case you were curious.**


	29. Jealousy

"A bite to eat" had turned into a walk down memory lane, which, in turn, had lead to this.

"You sure it's okay?" Soldier Boy asked, raising an eyebrow at Shadow.

"That's why I'm calling first, dummy." she said playfully, getting out her communicator. "Shadow to base, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, Shadow. You've got the wonderful Wally West, what's on your mind?" Wally replied in his lazy, naturally flirty way.

"Is it okay with you guys if I bring a guest in with me?"

"Well, that depends. Who's the guest?"

"It's an old friend I just ran into." she told him.

"Let me consult the Robin. BRB."

She waited a moment, giving Soldier Boy a smile. Then Wally came back on. "He says you're good. He's got the memory-wiping unit all ready."

"What? Are you serious?"

"I'm just kidding, Darce. We don't even have one of those."

"Yes we do." she said, surprised. "You were there when we got it. You-" She stopped, trying not to burst out laughing as she realized what must have happened. "I thought that only happened on T.V." she muttered, shaking her head.

"What? Darcy, what are you-"

"Never mind. I'll be there in ten." she laughed, switching off the device. She turned back to Soldier Boy. "Come on. Let's go meet the team."

**. . .**

"We get in through the zeta tubes." Shadow informed Soldier Boy when they were approaching the entrance. "Normally you need a sort of employee access thing, but I can enter you in as a guest. I just have to go through first. Count to twenty, then you can go." she told him.

"Whatever you say." he said.

She went through the tubes, then, on the other side, turned to the console and began gaining admittance for Soldier Boy. As promised, twenty seconds later, Soldier Boy entered, looking expectant.

"So, where is this team you speak so highly of?" he asked.

"Dude! Are you in the military?" asked Wally, entering the room.

"Sort of." said Soldier Boy, smiling.

"Soldier Boy, this is Kid Flash. Kid Flash, er... vice versa." Shadow said.

"Is this your guest?" he asked as Megan, Artemis, and Robin entered.

"Yep."

"Hang on." Soldier Boy said suddenly, narrowing his eyes. "You work with the _birdie_?"

"You brought _him_?" Robin said with equal disdain.

The two boys stared each other down, eyes full of dislike. Or, she could only assume Robin's were, as she couldn't see them. She let out an exasperated puff of air. "Ladies, you're both pretty. I need to get something from my room. I do _not_ want any cat fights... Play nice." she told them, turning away.

Soldier Boy had been studying Robin the past few seconds, and one of the things he got from the boy's body language was jealousy. So, the kid had feelings for his Shadow, huh? So what? He probably didn't even know the first thing about her. "Before you go..." he said, snagging her around the hips and pressing his lips to hers.

Shadow, so used to this from when it happened in the old days, let him do it, even going so far as to wrap her arms around his neck. Then she stepped back. "Well, Soldier... We were all alone at the diner, but you still have to show off, don't you?" she teased, walking away.

As she left, he gave a satisfied smirk, then looked down at Wonder Boy. With a look at his face, Soldier Boy almost regretted what he did. Robin had that look where you knew he wanted to be mad but he _really_ didn't want to show it. The artificial nonchalance was actually quite distracting to one who could read people like a book. "We... have a history." Soldier Boy told him, unable to keep the hint of apology from his voice.

"I noticed." Robin said dryly. "You wanna explain what you're doing showing your face around Happy Harbor? That _was_ you who burned down the bank, right?"

"It was an accident." Soldier Boy sighed quietly. "Anyway, how was I supposed to know the Justice Kids set up shop here?"

"Good question." the boy said. "It's a pretty weird coincidence that you suddenly appear _right_ where Shadow is now living. Sure nothing kinky's going on there?"

"Kid, do you even _know_ what kinky means?" the older boy asked. "Look, it was just an accident, okay? She saw me first, anyway. We met in the Wall-to-Wal-Mart. She was buying Christmas lights, I was trying to buy... er... supplies." he finished weakly.

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Supplies?"

"How about you keep your personal life, and I'll keep mine, deal?"

The Boy Wonder fell silent as Shadow re-entered the room. "Well... looks like yours just walked in. I'll leave it to you, then." he said, bowing out of the room.

Soldier Boy shook his head. _That_ had been on the frosty side. He hadn't thought the kid had it in him.

"Here." said Shadow, holding out her closed fist. He extended his hand and she dropped a chain into it. "I never got the chance to return this."

He let the chain unravel, revealing his symbol engraved on a pendent, and his eyebrows went up in surprise. "You kept this?"

"It's not like it was mine to throw away." she said, shrugging. "Anyway, I forgot to give it back, but now I have, so I can quit carrying it everywhere."

"You know, you can keep it, if you want." he offered.

She waved a hand. "No biggie. I'm sure General wants you to have it back, anyway."

"Right." he said, sticking it into his pocket. "So, do I get to meet the rest of your team, or am I only allowed to talk to Wonder Boy?"

She snorted. "Right. Come on, I'm sure you've already scared them into the recesses of the mountain."


	30. Texting

At Happy Harbor High School, Darcy found everyone was having a hard time keeping focused. With only days left until break, everyone had seemed to already go into vacation mode. Of course, she was way ahead of everyone on that point. She'd checked out the second day of school, as her grades didn't matter much where she was headed. It wasn't that she got straight F's. Her lowest grade was a C. She was just more laid back about school work than everyone else. Not much was hard for her, with her pre-programmed mind and all.

But if she had to sit through one more World Issues class, she wouldn't hesitate to just turn invisible and go home.

Her teacher was awful. His methods were sketchy, at best, and he taught _nothing_. Honestly, _she_ could have taught the class better than him.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated quietly in her pocket, and she slid it out unbeknownst to the droning professor.

_Dude! Did you know my school has a band room?_

Darcy rolled her eyes. Wally _would_ be the one to ask that. _Where do you think the band practices?_

_... We have a band?_

_Yeah. It's that thing with a bunch of people in funny hats who go out during halftime. I'm sure you never noticed because you're too busy pigging out at the snack bar._

_Ah, the nachos... They call to me!_

_Oh, like a certain green-clad heroin?_

_Yeah, Miss Martian _is_ pretty fine_.

_Green _clad_ not green _skinned_._

It took him longer to answer this one. _Dude... ew._

_Oh, will you quit? She's hot, you know it, and you like it._

_Sick and wrong, Darce! Sick and wrong!_

_Wally and Arty, sittin' in a tree..._

_Okay, well, what about you and Soldier Dude?_

_He's hot, innie?_

_Seriously? Nothing fazes you..._

_What did you expect? Some guarded, vague response? _

_I have, in fact, come to expect such things from you._

Darcy snorted out loud, catching the attention of a few bored students, but nothing more. _Maybe. But he's a guy. Guys aren't that hard to talk about._

_Oh, so Robin is an excellent topic of conversation?_

She narrowed her eyes. _Why wouldn't it be?_

_Oh, I get it. Now it's your turn to play dumb. Don't think I haven't seen the way you guys act with each other. To be honest, it's the most disgusting display of romantic tension I've seen short of Canary and Superboy._

She thought about this. Was it really that obvious? And what was _it, _anyway? Nothing was going on between the two. _Okay, A) That's gross, and B) What do you mean?_

His reply was almost immediate, which was a surprise, considering how much he wrote. _Do I really have to list it? When we're on missions, you constantly check in on each other, even if it's just for a second. On downtime, you're always watching movies and stuff. When you're feeling particularly depressed, you go to him. He always makes sure whatever he says won't make you think about your past. Not to mention, when you guys spar, it's like your version of foreplay._

_Wally!_

_I'm not kidding! I could literally compare you two to Catwoman and Batman. Legit._

_Whatevs. It doesn't matter, anyway. He likes Zatanna, obvi._

_Only because you haven't made a move._

She sat for a moment, contemplating that. Then she thought to herself, _Am I seriously having this conversation with _Wally_?_ The bell rang for lunch, so she picked up her bag and left the room, thinking about this statement and unsure of how to respond.

She was saved the effort, however, as Wally took it upon himself to further the conversation. _Okay, so, let's say you've been totally right this entire time and you really don't like Robin. Are you honestly telling me you're more into Soldier Boy?_

She flipped her phone open as her other friends made conversation. _It's not so much that I'm more into him as he's always been there. We have a history._

_Okay, that aside. Does he even know your real name?_

_Of course he does. He would have figured it out on his own, anyway._

_No, I mean your _real_ name. Not Darcy Darke._

She frowned. _Why would I tell him that?_

_Why did you tell Robin?_

She narrowed his eyes. _Trust purposes._

_Okay, fine. Since you won't budge, we'll change the topic._

_Thank you._

_But let's just say, _hypothetically_, that you _do_ make a move and you and Robin live happily ever after. I just thought you should know that it's not _that_ disgusting and that I'm totally okay with that._

_Changing subject in three... two..._

_Alright, alright! Fine..._


	31. Trust

Darcy laid on her bed, in no mood for Christmas Eve celebrations. Not many residents of the mountain were. Batman had just ordered a lock down because something sketchy was going down that the League had to take care of. He wasn't very specific about it.

"Merry Christmas." she muttered sardonically.

"Knock knock."

She sighed. "Who's there?"

"Robin."

She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him. "If you make some lame punch-line about robbing banks, I'm kicking you out right now."

He snorted and walked into the room. "I like what you did with the place." he said appreciatively, nodding at the glowing lights in the dark room.

"Thanks." she said.

"You know... We're watching a movie in the common room if you want to join us." he offered.

She shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks."

He sat on the bed next to her as she brought her knees to her chest. "You wanna tell me why you decided to hide in your room?"

"I'm not hiding." she argued. "I'm just mad."

"Why?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she countered. "We're under lock down. And for what, something that scared Superman? Honestly, I don't believe it."

"Well, Superman-"

"Doesn't lie, I know." she interrupted wearily. "It's just a hard concept to grasp, having been taught the fine art of lying at a young age." She shook her head. "I swear, I'm gonna go bonkers if this doesn't let up soon."

Robin looked at her. "Do you wanna go somewhere else?"

She snorted. "This mountain isn't big enough for how far I want to run."

"Who said we had to stay in the mountain?"

"Uh, Batman."

"All the exits are electronic." he pointed out. "_I_ can hack anything. All you need to do is say the word."

She considered him for a moment. "Won't you get in trouble with Bats?"

"It's not like I haven't done it before." he told her.

She looked at him for another moment. Then, her expression turned to one of determination. "Do it."

**. . .**

It wasn't long before Robin and Darcy were shooting out the zeta tubes on their street bikes, going as fast as they could on the empty, snowy streets.

"Where do you wanna go?" Robin called.

"Away." she responded simply.

"Next stop: Anywhere But Here." he said. They veered right as one and continued on the road that would lead them away from Happy Harbor and to lonely country roads. They rode for a while, neither knowing exactly how long they drove. They just kept going. Their bikes, faster than normal ones, took them farther in less time. Finally, Robin gave the signal to pull up at an empty intersection. She stopped alongside him, pulling her helmet off and breathing heavily with adrenaline. Kid Flash had it good. She couldn't imagine how cool it would be to go this fast all the time.

"Better?" he asked, looking at her. He hadn't removed his helmet.

She looked around at the frosted landscape, letting the cold breeze play with her black hair. It was dark, and the snow seemed to glow in the moonlight. The traffic lights blinked and changed for no one, casting an eerie yet peaceful glow on the surrounding area. She breathed in the crisp air, feeling a _lot_ better. "Let's go this way." she said, turning her bike and riding down the steep hill beside the road. Robin followed, and they let the racers lean up against an old, aluminum shed. It was larger than an average shed, but that was to be expected of something for farm equipment. Darcy stood on a nearby barrel and climbed up to the snow-covered roof. "Help me clear this." she commanded.

Robin obliged, agilely going up to the roof and clearing a space with his thick-gloved hands. Darcy, in turn, removed her gloves and placed her palms on the aluminum. "Love metal." she said quietly. "Great conductor of heat." Before long, he could feel the roof heating up and the last of the snow melted away. "Go on, lay down." she told him. He did so, and moaned appreciatively at the warmth.

"This is great." he said as she laid down next to him. "Have you done this before?"

She nodded. "Plenty of times." Then she got an odd look on her face, like she just had an idea. "Hang on, let me try something." she said, putting her palms on the roof again. Robin felt a new wave of warmth spread underneath him, then he saw a hazy membrane of golden light go up around them. It was faint, but unmistakable, and then the rest of him started to feel warm.

"I didn't know you could do that." Robin said. "I though it was just a beam."

"Green Lantern's been helping me out." she said. "I can make it warmer or cooler now. I'm only in the practice stage, but I figured this would be good if it started snowing on us."

He grinned. "It's like our own little green-house."

"Yeah... so I guess that makes us... plants?" she said uncertainly, making him laugh.

"We're very weird plants." he commented.

She shook her head, then looked over at him. "Why don't you take your helmet off?"

"No glasses."

"Seriously? You didn't bring them?"

"They don't fit under my helmet!" he argued. "And, besides, I didn't think we'd be stopping. I thought we'd just ride the whole time."

"Yeah, well, here we are." she said. "Stopped."

She couldn't see it, but she assumed he was rolling his eyes. "Hey, what are three things you wish you were good at?"

She looked at him. "Where did _that _come from?"

He shrugged. "I didn't want to reach an awkward pause in conversation, so I jumped ahead a little."

She giggled. "Fine. Three things I wish I was good at... Uh, well, being humble, number one. _Terrible_ at it. Um, making up words like you, and, uh," She pulled a face. "Telling the truth."

"Telling the truth?"

She shrugged. "Trained liar, remember? Sometimes, for big stuff, it's hard to get out of that. Anyway. It's your turn."

He let out a breath as he though. "Well... I wish I could run like Wally... I wish I could draw a decent picture... and I wish I could read minds, so I could know what people were thinking."

"You would have to promise never to read my mind."

"Wouldn't even dare."

"Three things you want to do in life." she said. "Go."

"Be the Batman!" he said immediately, making her laugh. "Take down the Joker, and... you know, generally go off on my own."

She nodded understandingly. "I guess that's on my list, too. Along with finding the owner of the Lab and – this is gonna sound _really_ dumb – owning a horse farm."

He actually turned his whole helmeted head to look at her. "A _horse farm_?"

"I know, it's ridiculous." she laughed. "But I like horses. I don't think it's ever gonna happen, but... It's a nice thought, anyway."

They lay in silence for a moment on the roof, when Darcy had a sudden thought. "What about Zatanna?"

He paused before answering. "What _about_ Zatanna?" he asked, voice dripping with confusion. "When did she come into this?"

She shrugged. "Well, you know... you seem really... fascinated by her." she finished lamely, uncomfortably aware at how juvenile she sounded.

"Darce... she's a girl." he said. "Not only that, she makes up stupid words that don't make sense. Of _course_ I'm fascinated by her."

"Oh." was all she said, unsure if she liked that answer. "You sure it's not those shorts?" she asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Darcy..."

"I know, I know, it was a stupid question." she sighed, turning away. "Let's just forget it, okay?"

They sat in silence again, and this time, Darcy was determined to keep her mouth shut.

Above them, the sky was slightly cloudy, but not so much that you couldn't see the stars. They were twinkling brightly tonight, and she was lost for a while in their beauty. She realized she'd never really taken the time to look up at the stars. She had always been too busy keeping her eyes on the prize, as Catwoman liked to say.

A beeping sound emitted from Robin's wrist-gadget. She looked over. "Is that Nanny Bats calling us back with a promise to beat our butts?"

Robin chuckled. "No. It's my alarm." He turned to look at her. "Merry Christmas."

Surprised, she checked her own watch. It was, in fact, midnight. Christmas day. "Merry Christmas." she murmured, not wanting to leave that spot just yet.

"You know... Zatanna doesn't fascinate me nearly as much as you." he said quietly and unexpectedly.

"Robin, I told you to-"

"Hang on, I'm on a roll." he said, and she could almost hear the smirk. "You fascinate me, too. And you don't even need to make up stupid words."

"Yeah, but can you trust me like her?" Darcy asked, catching him off guard. Sure, she joked about lying. But it was still something she couldn't feel right about. It shouldn't be part of her.

After a moment of quiet, Robin sat up and took off his helmet, causing her to get into a half-sitting position in surprise. "Robin! I thought-"

"You asked if I could trust you." he said, turning to look at her.

His eyes were blue.

His entire face looked different now, without anything to block the view of it. It was kind, understanding, and there was a slight air of permanent mischief. He leaned forward, closer to her than he'd ever been. "I hope this is an answer." he murmured before closing the distance between their lips.

Under the stars in a little bubble of warmth, in the center of a winter wonderland in the first minutes of Christmas day, the Robin and the Shadow shared their first kiss.

**End Part Three**

**. . .**

**So, I totally wrote this while listening to Song for a Winter's Night by Sarah McLachlan. I keep it in mind as background music for this scene. I hope this was okay.**


	32. Blame

**The beginning of this chapter takes place right after "Failsafe", when Canary is going all psychologist on the team.**

**. . .**

"I believe you." Canary said.

Darcy cocked an eyebrow. "You do? What about the others? I heard you wouldn't quit drilling them."

"You're not the others, are you?" she asked. "And, you just actually _seem_ fine. Like you're actually in your own element for a change."

"Yeah. Living among traumatized people will do that to you." Darcy said casually. "Seriously, though, I wasn't surprised by anything that happened. Sure, I got angry, yeah, I grieved for the dead. But... it wasn't a surprise." Her tone changed, suddenly, on the last sentence. It sounded almost flat, like she was trying not to show pain. Canary nodded, knowing they'd come to the point in the session she'd been aiming for. It was obvious Darcy wasn't very affected by the events of the training scenario gone wrong. But there were other things she needed to talk about.

"I can understand that." Canary told her. "You've been through so much more than the others."

"That's not why." Darcy said, surprising the older woman. "I mean, yeah, that's part of it, but... that's not all."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Yeah." she said decisively. "Yeah, I wanna talk. All this stuff that's happened to me? I – I've _never_ talked about it. Not even with Selina. I mean, Robin was my only outlet, and that was _weeks_ ago, when I still didn't remember most of it."

"Okay," said Canary. "Where do you want to start?"

Darcy was shaking her head, trying to keep her anger in check.. "I don't even know. I wish there was a clear beginning, but... It's just... It's not fair!" she said angrily. "Catwoman, Batman, joining the League, reprogramming my DNA, do you know why none of that ever worked out?" When Canary didn't answer, she continued. "No matter how strong I am or how much training I have, I'll never fully reach my goal. Because that's how I was built." Her hands were gripped in fists as she thought of what the scientists did to her. "They wanted it so I would always be challenged. So I could be stronger. But it doesn't matter what I'm doing, or what I'm trying to accomplish, because it will never be good enough."

Black Canary looked at the girl sadly. Darcy was a mess, and needed more help than she herself could provide. Perhaps more than anyone short of God could.

"And Robin... Robin was the _best_ and offered to reprogram my DNA. And I thought, 'This is it. I won't forget everything, I won't have to struggle anymore'. And then it didn't work, _because_ of that one aspect of my being. And it – it's not _fair_!" she exclaimed.

"No, it's not fair." Canary agreed. "Is there a way to fix it?"

"No." Darcy said. "I mean, we already tried, right? And I almost died. But it's messing with more than just my ability to survive."

Canary looked at her. "What else is there?"

Darcy looked down, her anger slowly fading into sadness. "You can't tell anyone."

"You have my word."

"I... I have _feelings_ for Robin. And – I didn't mean to – it just happened. And, a few weeks ago, we... kissed. But – and this is gonna sound _really_ cheesy – I can't let _anything _go on between us. Because I _know_ something completely horrible will happen, and Robin will be the one to get hurt." She shook her head. "You know... some days I feel like I just want to throw myself off a cliff." Canary started, but didn't speak. "But I don't. Because I know I'll probably land on a boat or something stupid like that and my plan won't work. It's gotten to the point where my nightmares consist of good things happening, and that eternal feeling that something bad will always follow coming with it." She sighed, defeat coloring her tone as she sagged against the armchair. "So you can see why this wasn't a surprise."

"I think you should talk to Batman."

Darcy's head snapped up. "Excuse me?"

Canary shrugged. "Think about it. He's the only person you know where absolutely _nothing_ has gone right between you. He's always hated you, and you've always hated him. Maybe you'll feel less like nothing goes as planned if you talk to him more."

Darcy shook her head, feet hitting the floor. "No. No, uh uh, I don't think so. Do you know _why_ Batman hates me?"

"I'm sure it's a very good reason. He doesn't hate very many people like he hates you."

"Thank you, Canary, that is _very _appreciated." Darcy said, eyes narrowed.

"Just try it. See what happens."

Darcy shook her head, walking out of the room. "Sorry. Bonding with Batty doesn't seem like a very good past-time."

**. . .**

Darcy shook her head, walking into the training room. She needed to blow off some serious steam, and this was that best place to do it.

However, she saw someone had already beaten her there.

The atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to "awkward" as they looked at each other. Robin, especially, felt uncomfortable. He remembered Darcy's words before they climbed off the roof that night weeks ago.

"_This can't happen again, okay?"_

_He looked at her, a little startled and hurt. "Uh... yeah. It was just a Christmas thing, anyway." he lied._

"_Good. Come on, we should head back."_

"I, um..." Darcy looked around the room, desperately needing something neutral to say. Instead, her eyes landed on the punching back, and she immediately gave in to her sudden urge to hit something. "Why did you do that?" she suddenly exclaimed. She was now going to release on Robin all the anger, confusion, and anything else she'd felt in the time since Christmas.

Robin was startled. "What?"

"Why the _heck_ would you kiss me?" she clarified, punching the bag again.

He looked at her. How was he supposed to answer that? "Uh... why do you think?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking!" she shouted. "You had no right! You didn't even ask!"

"Ask! Are you kidding me? How are you supposed to _ask_ about something like that?" he yelled back.

"You're smart! You figure it out!"

"Why are you getting mad at _me,_ anyway? _You_ kissed back!"

"You started it! You just went ahead and invaded my space without permission and-"

"Oh, fine, I get it!" he snapped. "I get it, alright? It was a lie! You said yourself, it's hard to get out of that habit!"

That was it. She hated lying, but she was too good at it. And now he was using that against her. With a wild yell, she launched herself at him.


	33. Fight

Darcy decided she hated Robin. She hated the stupid words he made up, she hated the way he looked at her, and his stupid computer skills that were _not_ cute in _any_ way, and the way he looked out for her, and those stupid, stupid blue eyes! She hated him for the way he made her feel, she hated how he'd metaphorically brought her to her knees where hardened emotions were concerned, she hated his trust, and, above all, she hated the way he understood her.

So she slammed her fist into his face as hard as she could.

There was a difference between two teenagers having it out on the floor and two heroes having it out on the floor. One major difference: Training. They were both highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and were using it to the very best of their abilities with each other. This wasn't sparring. They were truly aiming to hurt each other, so angry they hardly even realized they were traveling all over the room.

Robin threw Darcy up against one of the work-out machines, and she responded by kicking him into a pile of weights. It hurt immensely, but she didn't need to know that. He jumped back up and they tangled again, this time ending up on the practice platform in the middle of the room. She caught his fist in her jaw, and she hit the floor. From there, she attacked his legs, bringing him down with her. He managed to pin her to the ground, but she got her knees up under him and threw him off. He sent a kick in her direction when she stood, but she caught it and used the opening to hit him in the face. He used the foot she was holding to throw her off the platform, where he, again, tackled her.

They were so into their heated battle they didn't notice two League members enter the room until the Flash had a hold of Darcy and Martian Manhunter was pulling Robin away. They were still yelling and thrashing, even with their arms pinned to their sides.

"Stop! Hey, ENOUGH!" Flash yelled, causing them to finally stop. "_What_ is going on?"

Neither of the two said anything, preferring to glare at one another instead. "If you don't talk, I'm gonna get J'onn to read your minds." Flash threatened.

"You wouldn't dare." Darcy growled.

"Do it." he said, nodding at Manhunter.

"No! Stop!" Darcy cried, curling into a ball while Flash still held her arms tight against her sides. The sight would have been comical, had Robin not been so angry with her. Why had she attacked him? What exactly had possessed her to do so?

"I cannot get through to her." said Manhunter. "She has closed off her mind."

"Can someone actually do that?" Flash asked in amazement.

"Apparently."

He sighed. "Fine. Look, we don't have time for this, anyway. We came in here to let you know there's another mission. Although I'm considering making you sit this one out. Fighting... what in the _world _has gotten into you two?"

"Should we carry them to the briefing room?" Manhunter asked.

"Nah... but keep hold of Robin. I'll hang on to this one." Flash answered. "Fighting... I just... I can't believe it. And, Darcy, you _know_ Batman's gonna kill you when he finds out."

She stayed silent as they walked to the briefing room, choosing to stare at the passing walls.

"Robin? Do you have anything to say?"

He was quiet for a moment, then, "Don't tell Batman."

Flash looked startled. "Why not?"

"This is between me and her. I don't want him trying to fix things his way." He looked over at Darcy. "I know what his way will be."

Flash shook his head in exasperation. "If I don't tell Batman, you two will be serving your punishment for me. Deal?"

"Fine." said Robin. "Whatever you want."

The League members let go of the teens, and Darcy and Robin entered the briefing room without so much as a glance at each other.

"Where were you two?" Batman asked, noting their disgruntled appearances.

"Training room." they said at the same time.

He gave them one last look, then turned to the rest. "I don't think I need to stress the importance of this mission. Joker has been sighted repeatedly in the same area with no chaos erupting. You six are going to find out what he's up to. Bring back the information, and the League will deal with whatever it is. He has no doubt prepared for us to come, so we're sending you. He will not have prepared for that."

"We will do our best." Kaldur promised.

"Remember: This is only a recon mission. It's too dangerous for any of you to fight him."

They nodded, then headed to the hangar, where Megan would program the coordinates of their location into the bioship. "Wow, the Joker!" said Kid Flash excitedly, punching Robin in the arm. "We get to scope out the Joker, dude!"

Shadow was immediately brought back to when she had faced the Joker in a runaway nightmare. She unconsciously felt her stomach, where there had been a bullet-hole that didn't exist. From time to time, she still felt a small flare of pain from the phantom wound. She wouldn't mind giving Joker a very real one.

"Don't become too overzealous, Kid." said Aqualad warningly. "We don't want to get caught."

"Wouldn't it have been better if only some of us went?" Artemis asked as they took off. "I mean, won't _six_ of us get caught easier than if there were, say, three?"

"If push comes to shove, though, it's better to have more people." said Miss Martian. "And, from what I've heard about the Joker, it just might come to that."

"The fact is, Artemis, that we really don't know exactly what we're up against." Aqualad said.

Kid Flash looked over at Shadow. When he didn't look away, she turned to him. "What?"

He looked slightly taken aback. "I dunno... Why have you and Rob been so quiet?"

"Superboy's been quiet." she argued.

"Yeah, but he's always quiet." he said dismissively. "I'd have expected you and Rob to start planning out tactics by now."

"We are." said Robin. "Just... not out loud."

"Oh, I get it." said Kid Flash, and, for a moment, Shadow thought he'd found out about the fight. "You've established some special telepathic link just between the two of you. You guys are so weird, you know that?"

Robin and Shadow didn't even have it in them to look at each other in exasperation. The anger was still too fresh.

Luckily, the bioship landed shortly thereafter, sparing any of them from filling an awkward silence. As silently as they could, they filed out of the ship and towards the building.

That, in it of itself, was not nearly as terrifying as it should have been. For a place frequented by the Joker, of all people, it was surprisingly lacking in creepy décor. It was a simple, cinderblock cube, and, however daunting, didn't seem like the lair of a psychotic nemesis. It seemed more like a county prison than anything else.

But while the others were glad that the choice of architecture wouldn't be the cause of any nerves, Shadow was on pins and needles. She'd seen buildings like this enough times to know what lay within was something ten times worse than someone would initially believe. Judging books by their covers wasn't something she did often, especially in the case of something that could very well be filled with gruesome medical equipment and mad scientists.

"Tread lightly." she murmured, going invisible.

"Already in the plan." Aqualad said. "M'gann, if you would establish a link."

"On it." said the Martian.

Shadow immediately tried to pull back her raging emotions, but was only a second too late. All across the mental link, anger and fear could be felt for the briefest of moments, and not all the anger belonged to her. Robin received a few questioning stares as well, but the team decided there were more important matters to attend.


	34. Darkness

They went in through the roof. There was an access point up there. Shadow cringed as she saw benches and two pathways leading around the square top. To give certain, well-behaved experiments exercise. No. No, she had to stop herself from thinking that. There was no way this could be the Lab. It wasn't possible.

But then they entered the building. It was dark and empty, so once they hit a room, Robin turned on the lights.

Everywhere were chemicals, needles, bandages, charts, beds, and any number of nefarious "medical" tools. The smell of the chemicals sent Shadow into a state of panic, and she flattened herself against the wall, not looking at any of it.

"What is it?" Aqualad whispered.

"It's the Lab." she said with a dry sob. "We're inside the Lab."

"Very good!" called a voice from above them. On the catwalk was none other than the Joker, leaning down to leer at them. "See, Fifteen? I knew you'd remember this place if we jogged your memory a little!"

"What makes you think I forgot?" she snapped.

"Wait, this is the _Lab_? As in, _the_ Lab?" Wally asked.

"Take a look around." she answered, gesturing at all the equipment. "What do you think?"

"What are you doing here, Joker?" Robin asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" said the madman, gesturing around. "Why, I own the place! With a certain business partner, that is."

"With Puppet Master." she said, as though disgusted. "I can't believe I didn't guess it before. I can't believe I didn't even _think_ about it before. But it makes sense." She stared up at Joker. "You're both insane. This was all just some big, complicated dollhouse to you, wasn't it?"

"Actually, that's _exactly_ what it was." he said darkly, gesturing at a symbol on the wall. It depicted a piece of a DNA strand, and next to it was _Doll House Laboratories_. The word _Doll_ was on top of _House_, and the shared 'o' was a picture of a house. _Laboratories_ was written in smaller writing underneath and was underlined. It was a good logo, or would have been, if the Lab wasn't so creepy. "Like it? A brilliant scientist came up with it in his spare time. You might know him. Or maybe not. He was your _father_, after all."

Shadow paled as he cackled. "No... Not possible... M-my father-"

"Turned you over in the name of science!" Joker crowed. "Your mother, well, she wasn't quite on board, but what do a woman's opinions matter, anyway?"

"That's enough!" Aqualad barked. "Why did you bring us here?"

Joker's smile turned into a snarl. "I wanted my property back."

"She's not property!" Robin called. "She a person, and you just proved that by mentioning her parents!"

"Contrary to popular belief, little birdie, I wasn't _joking _when I said she was created for the sole purpose of destruction so many years ago." he snapped. "You think a man like her father wanted a child to love and to care for? Ha! Some of my experiments had that, but we took it before long. Fifteen was lucky in that she never knew that kind of false love."

"Stop!" Shadow shouted. "If we're here to fight, let's fight! If you're not prepared, we'll take you down, anyway!"

"Of course I'm prepared, Fifteen!" Joker cackled. "Security!"

Large, beefy henchmen filed into the room from every doorway. All exits were blocked, and the team was severely outnumbered. "Those are so not Rent-A-Cops!" Kid Flash said as they made a circle formation.

"Do not let them intimidate you!" Aqualad called. "We must take down this facility at all costs!"

"I got this one." Shadow called, leaping out of the circle at the first man. That's when the fight started. Everyone, henchmen and the team alike, broke formation and attacked each other like dogs fighting for meat. Very agile, superpowered dogs, but just as vicious. Shadow's foot was grabbed as she tried to kick one man and she was thrown into Robin.

"Hey, watch it!" he snapped.

"Then stay out of my way!" she grunted, going back into the fray. A man tackled her, and she lost her balance. He tried to swing at her with a sharp blade, but she rolled out of the way. He came at her again, cutting her arm. Angered, she grabbed the closest thing she could find and hit him with it.

Blood appeared on the front of his uniform. She stared in shock as he stumbled back and fell to the floor, the life draining out of him. She could feel the weapon in her hand: One of Robin's fallen Batarangs. The others slowly stopped fighting as they realized Shadow had just made the worst possible move in a fight.

The death blow.

Suddenly, a crazed laugh echoed around the room. Everyone began to move out of the light, but Shadow continued to stare, dumbstruck, at the man she'd just killed.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" asked Joker, leaping down from the railings. He took in the sight of Shadow standing over his dead minion and whistled. "You know, whoever said Batman was the one with issues has obviously never seen you holding a sharp object." he chuckled, looking around. "I mean, wouldn't you agree? She's quite a natural at the stabbing thing."

"Get. Out." Shadow said quietly through gritted teeth.

"Ooh hoo hoo, is the little kitty upset?" he asked, drawing a finger across her jaw. "How very human of you."

"Stay away from her!" Kid Flash shouted.

"I don't think so." Joker said. "I can't have you kiddies bothering me anymore, so I'll just take you out one by one. Ta ta!"

The lights went out and everyone was plunged in darkness. Screaming and yelling was heard, and suddenly everything was quiet. When the lights thunked back on, Shadow was standing alone. But she knew what she had to do. Find the others, save them, and take down the entire God-forsaken facility. Somehow, she would find a way.

**. . .**

**Well, this just got dark. Sorry for the sluggish updating, but that's how I roll for now. I'm just super bored today, so I'm trying to catch up on a bunch of stuff. **


End file.
